You can get away with an average website or a loose marketing plan in a booming economy.
However, with trading conditions tightening across Australia and New Zealand, every customer interaction matters more than ever.
When cash flow is tight and central bank rates remain elevated, decision-makers become risk-averse. They don’t stop spending, but they take longer to decide and look for proof that a supplier can be trusted and easy to deal with, and more often than not their research starts online. While fragile operators face natural attrition in these conditions, established businesses should be focused on two things: protecting current accounts and defending market share.
We started Mogul in 2007, right as the Global Financial Crisis hit. Over the past nineteen years, we have guided clients through the GFC, the Christchurch earthquakes, the pandemic, rising interest rates and New Zealand’s recent recession. The overarching lesson that we can share from those years is – organisations that act strategically with their time and budget come out stronger than those that put their heads in the sand.
Navigating an economic slowdown calls for protecting your marketing budget and focusing on a strong strategic direction. It requires a deliberate reallocation of time and resources toward demonstrating brand authenticity and unparalleled customer service. Focusing on these fundamentals deepens client loyalty, while giving prospective buyers clear reasons to select your organisation over a competitor.
During the 2009 downturn, Hyundai launched its Assurance programme, offering to buy back vehicles if buyers lost their income within twelve months. By directly removing buyer hesitation, Hyundai grew its market share while wider industry sales collapsed. And incredibly only 100 cars were ever returned. Similarly, when global travel stopped in 2020, Airbnb slashed its performance marketing budget and permanently shifted focus to brand marketing. Instead of paying search engines for ad clicks, they invested in brand storytelling and public awareness. Over 90 per cent of their traffic became direct or unpaid, setting up record profitability.
Hyundai succeeded by addressing the primary barrier preventing a purchase. Airbnb succeeded by stopping their reliance on paid ad clicks and focusing on making their brand so well known that people searched for them directly. If you dig deep enough you’ll find how your organisation can meet the changing needs of your customers in a way that your competitors haven’t thought of.
Over the coming weeks, I am sharing a six-part series on making digital investments deliver better returns during tough conditions:
- Why a slowing economy demands strategic discipline (you are reading this now)
- Why relying on word of mouth becomes risky in a slowing economy
- Making your digital assets work harder for client retention
- Why human judgement beats low-effort automated content
- Leveraging internal teams and clearing sales bottlenecks
- Digital governance to protect assets and manage risk in your downtime
The main objective during a downturn is straightforward – protect your commercial reputation while ensuring your primary digital platforms give cautious decision-makers confidence to choose you.
Successfully navigating a slowing market comes down to making deliberate, strategic decisions with your primary digital platforms. I hope to help you to ensure your organisation stands out as a reliable and trusted partner whenever existing customers or prospective buyers assess their options.
Next week in Part 2, we’ll cover why relying on word of mouth becomes risky in a slowing economy.
