“Are we entering a recession?” It’s the question everyone’s asking right now. And honestly? Nobody really knows for sure. Tariff and trade war uncertainty has businesses worried about impacts to their bottom line—and that’s leading some to pull back on marketing spend or hold off on rolling out new strategies.
At Sproutbox, we’ve been down this black diamond before. Fun fact: our agency actually launched in 2008, right in the middle of the last big recession. Then, when COVID threw a big fat wrench into the economy, we helped our clients navigate the bumps and abrupt turns with creative digital marketing strategies that landed—and stayed mindful of tight budgets.
Here’s the most important thing we’ve learned: when everyone else starts shaking in their boots, the best businesses get up on their skis and find ways to build momentum. Instead of hesitating or waiting to perfectly time the market, they see opportunities to grab market share and get to work doing it.
That’s what we want to help you with in this post. Below, we’ll dive into some digital marketing strategies that could help your business thrive, not just survive, in the current economic climate. Let’s go.
The Basics: Focus on Value and Necessity
Before we start rattling off digital marketing strategies, let’s zoom out a bit and get back to the basics. When the economy gets rocky, people aren’t exactly throwing cash around like confetti. They’re looking for the real deal, the stuff that actually matters. So, how do you make sure your brand isn’t just another “maybe later?” You become the answer to their biggest “what-ifs.” Let’s look at how to flip the script and show your customers that your product or service isn’t just a purchase, it’s a core part of their day-to-day lives.
Value
Find a way to frame your product as more than a “nice-to-have.” Make it superhero your customers didn’t know they needed. Do research, reach out to customers, read your reviews, and refresh your buyer personas. You want to be super clear on the actual problems your customers are facing right now, and how your product or service can actually solve those problems. And as your formulate that unique value proposition, avoid vague statements or empty promises. Drill down and find ways to express the tangible value you bring to your customers’ lives.
Affordability
Can you offer budget-friendly options? Discounts? Payment plans that don’t make your customers’ eyes water? Yes to all of it. Show them how your stuff saves them money in the short term while providing value in the long term, and do it in language that’s clearer than a glacier-fed stream.
Quality
In shaky economic times, people don’t gamble on unknowns. So your product or service shouldn’t be one. Shout your brand’s quality from the rooftops. We’re talking testimonials, case studies, customer reviews, the whole shebang. You want to do everything you can to get in front of your customers and build trust. Video marketing can be an especially effective way to do this. Whether it’s a polished client testimonial video on your homepage or some user-generated content (UGC) posted on social media, surveys show that real customers and peer endorsements promote purchase behavior.
Solutions
Focus on benefits, not features. This one’s a pretty basic tenet of product marketing, but it’s good to revisit your messaging and make sure it passes the sniff test, so to speak. At every possible moment, are you framing your product or service not in terms of what it does, but how it solves your customers’ problems? Maybe you sell accounting software for small businesses. Don’t just talk about the platform’s suite of billing, expense tracking, and payroll management features. Talk about how your software solves their business’s biggest headaches by improving accuracy, saving time through process automation, and ultimately saving money.
Digital Marketing Strategies You Can Try Today
When times are tough, the businesses that thrive are the ones that stay visible and keep engaging their audience. And where is that audience? Online. A strong digital marketing strategy isn’t just about keeping the lights on—it’s about making sure your brand stays top of mind, builds trust, and drives conversions when customers are being more selective with their spending. Here’s how to make every digital move count.
SEO & Content: Own Your Online Real Estate
If your customers are searching for solutions, you want to be the answer they find. That’s where search engine optimization (SEO) and high-quality content marketing come in. Instead of creating content just for the sake of it, focus on producing resources that directly address your audience’s pain points.
- Update your existing content to reflect current economic concerns. What new challenges are your customers facing?
- Target high-intent keywords—the searches people make when they’re ready to buy, not just browse.
- Diversify content formats with blog posts, how-to guides, case studies, and short-form videos that showcase real solutions.
The goal? Build authority and keep your brand in front of potential customers, so when they’re ready to make a move, they come to you first.
Paid Ads: Smarter Spending, Bigger Impact
With tighter budgets, every ad dollar needs to do some heavy lifting. Instead of broad, unfocused campaigns, use data-driven targeting to reach the right people at the right time. One great tactic is to retarget website visitors who’ve engaged with your content but haven’t converted yet. You can also test ad copy and content to see what messaging resonates best—because what worked last year might not work for what your customers are facing today.
Email Marketing: Build Relationships, Not Just Lists
A good email list is worth it’s weight in gold, especially when times are tight. Even 50-plus years after the first email was sent, email marketing continues to deliver solid ROI for brands. What makes email special is it offers a direct line to people who already know and trust your brand. If you’ve built your list correctly, it should be full of people who actually want to hear about your products because they opted-in to receive emails from you. But inboxes are crowded, so your emails need to be strategic.
- Segment your list based on purchase behavior, interests, or engagement level to send more relevant messages.
- Offer real value—whether that’s exclusive deals, expert insights, or personalized recommendations.
- Automate follow-ups to nurture leads and stay in touch without overwhelming your team. This is especially helpful if you’re an e-commerce businesses, where automated emails drive 37% of sales from just 2% of email volume, per Omnisend.
The key is consistency and relevance. If your emails feel like a conversation, not just a sales pitch, your audience will keep opening them.
Social Media: Don’t Just Broadcast—Engage
Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are where they party’s at. Your audience is already spending their time there, but cutting through the noise to really reach them requires more than just posting, shrugging, and praying for engagement. We know, it’s like the third time we’ve said this, but people are more reluctant to spend their money when the economy is on the fritz. And that means they’re probably paying closer attention to the brands they follow. Your social presence should build trust, provide value, and encourage authentic interactions. Here’s how you should be approaching your social media strategy:
- Be responsive and be real. Reply to comments, answer questions, and participate in industry discussions. When you respond and engage regularly, your brand voice starts to feel more human and less distant or corporate.
- Prioritize community-building over self-promotion. Forget the thinly-veiled sales pitches. Your audience can see through that crap. Instead, share customer stories, highlight user-generated content (did we mention video?), and offer expert advice instead of just pushing sales messages.
- Adapt to shifting platform trends. Stay on top of trends and focus on formats that get prioritized, like short-form video on Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. And that puzzle grid you worked so hard to create on Instagram? Yeah, they’re new rectangular grid completely messed it up, so you might want to go in and fix that…
Overall, on social you want to make sure your messaging and designs align with the moment. Meet your customers where they are with content that feels both relevant and actionable.
Influencer & Partner Marketing: Expand Your Reach
Have we reached peak influencer? Maybe. I mean, dudes are out here unironically rubbing banana peels on their faces as part of their morning routines and posting it online for everyone to see. But despite all the weirdness, influencer and partner marketing can be hugely beneficial if done right—and with the right people.
Strategic influencer partnerships can introduce your brand to highly engaged, niche audiences in an organic way—without feeling like another ad. But here’s the key: influencer marketing isn’t always about big-name endorsements. It’s about authentic collaborations that provide real value. How to make influencer partnerships work for your brand:
- Prioritize micro-influencers (10K–100K followers). They often have higher engagement rates and more niche authority than mega-influencers, making their recommendations more trusted. This tactic has been especially helpful for some of our clients.
- Look for alignment, not just reach. Choose influencers whose audience matches your ideal customer profile and whose content naturally fits your brand’s messaging.
- Encourage authentic storytelling. The best influencer content doesn’t feel like a commercial. Give creators creative freedom to show how they actually use your product in their daily lives.
Just like with your own branded content, your audience can smell phony, salesy content a mile away. That’s why your influencer strategy should prioritize building social proof in a way that feels genuine and relatable.
Seize the Opportunity
Look, economic downturns suck. But it helps to think of them like a marketing obstacle course. There’s a way through that can help your business win and grow—you’ve just gotta be willing to get in there, try some things, and meet the challenges as they come. The brands that succeed aren’t the ones who pull back and wait—they’re the ones who adapt, stay visible, and double down on delivering real value.
That means demonstrating why your product or service is essential, using SEO and paid ads to stay top of mind, and strengthening customer trust through email, social media, and strategic partnerships. It also means staying agile—listening to your audience, adjusting your messaging, and making data-driven decisions to meet their evolving needs.
Tough times don’t last, but strong brands do. Play the long game, prioritize your customers, and you won’t just weather the storm—you’ll come out stronger on the other side.
And you don’t have to go it alone, either. If you need a digital marketing partner you can trust, give us a call. We’re always down to chat, and we’d love to help you craft a killer plan to grow your business.