Successful companies do not abandon their marketing strategies in a recession; they adapt them. You are challenged to anticipate the needs of your customers and adjust your strategies. Consider these tips:

Research your customer
You need to know more than ever how consumers are redefining value and responding to the recession. Call your customer; send them a questionnaire in the mail or by email. Watch your website statistics to measure changes in behavior. Open your eyes and ears so you can stay one step ahead when competing for limited resources.

Anticipate changes
When money is tight, customers take more time searching for durability, quality, and value. They also negotiate harder on pricing, postpone purchases, trade down, or buy less. Conspicuous consumption becomes less prevalent.

Focus on Values
When economic hard times loom, we tend to retreat to our village. Look for cozy hearth-and-home family scenes in advertising to replace images of extreme sports, adventure, and rugged individualism. Zany humor and appeals on the basis of fear are out.

Maintain Marketing Spending
This is not the time to cut marketing. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times. Companies with deep pockets may be able to negotiate favorable advertising rates and lock them in for several years. If you have to cut marketing spending, view this need as a strategic opportunity to cut cost, improve ROI, and garner an immediate sales impact.

Adjust Product Profile
Marketers must reforecast demand for each item in their product lines as customers seek value. Tough times favor multi-purpose goods over specialized products, and weaker items in product lines should be pruned. Gimmicks are out; reliability, durability, safety, and performance are in. New products, especially those that address the new consumer reality, should still be introduced, but promotions should stress superior price performance, not image.

Support Existing Partners
In uncertain times, no one wants the hassle of uncertain relationships or questions of quality and reliability. Doing so can jeopardize existing relationships and your brand image.

Adjust Pricing Tactics
Customers will be shopping around for the best deals. You do not necessarily have to cut list prices, but you may need to offer more temporary price promotions, reduce thresholds for quantity discounts, extend credit to long-standing customers, and price smaller pack sizes more aggressively. In tough times, price cuts attract more consumer support than promotions such as sweepstakes and mail-in offers.

Stress Market Share
In all but a few categories companies are in a battle for market share and, in some cases, survival. Consider adjusting goals and objectives to focus on market share or target market penetration over sales volume.

Emphasize Core Values
Managers can cement the loyalty of employees and customers by spending more time with them. Don’t let financial concerns dominate managing customer relationships.

Remember Sustainability
This economic situation can largely be attributed to an unsustainable economic environment. Be certain to apply the principles of sustainability to your business to ensure that you meet the needs of today without sacrificing your future. Making these adjustments are consistent with your economic needs, but are even more important when you consider the environmental benefits of your thoughtful planning.

Our economy and our environment are intimately connected. This change in business environment highlights the importance of sustainable marketing. Reducing resource use, reducing expense, and utilizing careful planning can help your company weather tough times.

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Thanks to the Harvard Business School for source materials.