Surviving an economic downturn

On the verge of recession, rising high inflation, a contracting economy, a sharp downturn, a bear market. Read the news and these are the words you will see. If you hold the purse strings to a budget, hold your nerve as we hit negative economic growth and stick to a financial plan. It’s important not to make rash decisions. Stay focussed on your business's long-term goals and use PR and comms to gain an advantage.

This economic downturn could be short and sharp or a long and drawn-out economic recession. The businesses that will survive are those who keep their strong relationships with all their stakeholders. They need a strategy, but also to be opportunistic to ensure they thrive in the long-term.

Sarah Woodhouse, Director at AMBITIOUS, said: “During a recession or economic downturn, businesses immediately look for services that can be cut to reduce cost and save money. Often, PR and comms teams feel the brunt of this. However, businesses are learning that they need communicators.  They need to keep clients, customers, employees, shareholders, investors and stakeholders up to speed and ensure buy in to company decisions and developments. The sales pipeline also needs support at the top end of the funnel to continue to build relationships with prospects.”

“It’s crucial to ensure your messages are considered, clear and communicated during tough times. Stopping comms in the short-term will damage your future goals and growth.”

A 2010 Harvard Business Review study of 4,700 companies going through recessions found that “firms that cut costs faster and deeper than rivals don’t necessarily flourish. They have the lowest probability—21%—of pulling ahead of the competition when times get better.”

Research shows that not investing in PR and marketing to reduce costs is a bad idea.

The best way to survive a recession is to recession-proof your business. Here are some top tips and creative ways to prepare for a recession:

IS YOUR BUSINESS PREPARED FOR COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES

It's important to take stock of your crisis preparedness. Has your company foreseen all challenges related to the recession? What happens if businesses in your supply chain don't survive? What impact will inflation have on your business and staff's cash flow? How will you handle fears around job security? Does the impact in other industries affect you? Do you have an emergency fund or a safety net? How strong are your finances and do you have a financial plan? Have you planned for certain scenarios, deciding what your company stance will be? Have you written your supportive statements? Are your spokespeople properly trained to deal with the media and support your messages?

BE LOUDER THAN YOUR COMPETITORS WITH CLEVER CONTENT

If your competition reduces their PR and comms activity, this is the perfect opportunity to secure a competitive advantage. By holding your nerve and continuing to bring value to the sector you can secure a strong share of voice, build third-party endorsement and elevate your position. If you stop now, it'll take a lot of time and effort to get back up and running again. The money saved will not be worth it in the long run.

CONTINUE TO BUILD GOOD RELATIONSHIPS AND HELP YOUR SECTOR

A little goes a long way! If your competitors are reducing their involvement in partnerships, sponsorships and media spend, double down and pick up these opportunities for a good rate. You'll build a lot of goodwill this way, and the mutual benefits will continue in the future. This type of activity also sends a sign to the market that you are in good shape and in control. Invest in creating connections.

GO THE EXTRA MILE

It's not just about the product or service. You may have expertise or counsel that you can offer to help clients or customers. If you have a ‘helpful’ plan this can be mobilised via your PR approach, personal brand of your leadership, your content strategy and any other comms touchpoints you have. Provide expert advice.

THERE IS STILL A TALENT SHORTAGE

You still have to keep and hire the best people for the job, providing good career opportunities and investing in your staff as unemployment rises throughout every industry.

Communicating your strategy to manage the economic downturn to potential employees will reassure internal and external stakeholders alike. Whatever decisions are made by your companies managing director, you need to be able to clearly explain them to your employees and be sure your comms are top quality.

BUILD YOUR DIGITAL PRESENCE

While competitors are trying to save money on comms, what can you do to build digital ground and your rankings for keywords? Build your content strategy, secure those backlinks, keep focused on your domain authority and use the time to get to know the new GA4 analytics and other updates from Google.

WHAT DOES THE SEARCH SAY?

What actually comes up on the first couple of pages on Google or Bing when you look up your company? Use this time to develop a SERP strategy to curate and influence what different search terms reveal about your business. Make what people find interesting and reflective of you as a business – infographics, video, media coverage, reviews, and photography.

LEARN WHAT'S COMING NEXT

What is the next trend or opportunity? Right now, it’s all about voice and video… what can you do now to upskill your comms team and use this in your PR and comms moving forward? Often this can be done for minimal cost. Get your tech skills in shape so you don't just survive the recession, but thrive after it.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CAN LIFT YOUR CORPORATE BRAND

What will your industry or the economy looks like post-recession? Is it bad news or good news for your industry? What will the market trends be? Get researching and find the best minds for the subject and communicate this to your stakeholders. Be the trend setter.

USE MARKETING FOR GROWTH

There is nothing like a business in recession to focus the mind and dissipate turf wars. If your sales, business development, marketing and PR teams have always been operate, now is the time to bring them together. Get it right and there are plenty of competitive advantages. It makes sense to build the pipeline and see how to create extra income.

ESG DOESN'T STOP, NOR SHOULD ITS COMMS

As the economy suffers and money gets tighter, budgets often shrink for ESG or CSR investment. But cutting investment in this area represents a significant risk in the long-term, given upcoming legislative changes and the engaging nature of Gen-Z. Meanwhile continuing to communicate on ESG – including being transparent about the challenges – will pay dividends in the future.

We have a change communications management package to support businesses through challenging times. These are available on request. Get ahead of the rest and book a half an hour call to help us, help you, navigate your PR and communications planning hello@ambitiouspr.co.uk.