During an economic recession, product marketers need to be prepared for buyers to get stuck in the buying journey. That’s because recessions make customers a lot mrore indecisive.
As budgets tighten and the pressure from executives and investors increases, marketing and sales leaders often flounder in the face of growing audience indecision and stuckness. Their response, all too often, is to do more, create more, communicate more to try and convince those buyers to get unstuck and take action.
I’m currently consulting with a couple of B2B SaaS companies who, in our first session together, bragged about doubling their available content in the last three months and then expressed frustration that “it hadn’t done anything.”
But, based on what I’ve seen in past recessions, the problem those companies were running into had nothing to do with a lack of marketing content.
The Fundamental Rule of Product Marketing in a Recession
When your buyers are overwhelmed, confused, and know they need to get results — and fast — or risk their own jobs, they’re far less likely to say yes. That’s because the status quo is always the safest choice (their boss can’t blame them for making a wrong decision if they haven’t made any decision at all).
What’s more, I’ve found in times of economic growth, most buyers are buying in spite of clumsy sales tactics and confusing marketing materials — not because of them. Buyers think, “Well, I have to choose one of these options, and these people seem likeable enough” not “These materials precisely capture all of my concerns and make it very clear that this solution will fix things.”
Trying to convince that buyer that if only they switch to your solution things will get magically better isn’t actually convincing anyone of anything — it’s just that when budgets are flexible and the stakes are low, people enjoy spending money and trying new things.
Product marketing in a recession, though, must make your company stand out as the best choice through expertise, dedication and strong organization. Your sales team must position themselves as true, troubleshooting partners who will do whatever it takes to ensure the customer’s success. Your marketing materials must position your product as the cost-saving, time-saving, results-getting solution.
Stop Creating More Material Just to Tick a Box
If you’re in sales leadership, stop requiring sales people to follow up just to follow up. Stop sending your prospects “one more resource” emails and instead, start connecting with your prospects and positioning your team as customer advocates who get results.
If you’re in marketing, stop creating more material just so you have something to show the investor board this Tuesday. Instead, to create effective product marketing in a recession, go through everything you already have and curate. Create an overall journey for your prospects. Take them by the hand, nurture them, and deliver them to MQL stage ready for a demo, ready for a conversation with an account executive, and ready to say yes.
A lot of this is about knowing your customer inside and out — know whether Prospect A will find a calculator or a checklist more compelling, whether Prospect B needs a “how to convince your boss to invest” resource or a “comprehensive research report uncovering the inherent problems in using paper and pen instead of a platform.” Then deliver that one resource to the prospect through automations.
When a prospect signs up for a webinar, always have a next step for them based on their likely needs and buyer role. But, and here’s the part many marketers forget, share only ONE next step.
The confused mind says no. And no mind is more confused than someone in the midst of one of the weirdest recessions that might be happening.
Product Marketing in a Recession Requires Great Collateral
Clear, concise materials that speak directly to the prospect’s current challenges allow you to “enter the conversation in the prospect’s mind” which automatically positions your team as the expert guide. Winning this positioning gets you halfway to making a sale.
Working with sales, marketing, and product teams to ensure materials are potent and audience friendly fundamentally makes the difference between businesses that weather the stormy winds of a recession and businesses that flounder or fail.
If I can help you curate and improve your materials, matching them to audience and buyers’ journey stages, set up some time for us to talk. I’m looking forward to meeting you!