Business owners across the board are concerned about 2023 and the impending recession. As an e-commerce business, how do you stay profitable during a recession? Should you cut your marketing budget? Change your business model?
This article will share eight tips for keeping your e-commerce business profitable, even during a recession.
1. Don’t Cut Your Marketing Budget
When a recession hits, many business owners’ first thought is to cut down on what they are spending on marketing. The Lash Professional says this is a mistake. Cutting your marketing budget during a recession will do more harm than good. It is still critical to promote your products or services through marketing efforts even when consumer spending is lower.
2. Re-evaluate Your Marketing Strategy
SaharaCase, an online retailer of phone cases and other tech accessories shares that while you shouldn’t cut your marketing budget, you should re-evaluate your marketing strategy. During a recession, you will want to focus more on the sales of loyal customers than gaining new customers. Get the most out of your marketing budget by reallocating marketing dollars to the right places.
3. Focus on Low-Cost SEO
Work to optimize your website and any content you share to drive traffic to your site, says a representative from The Print Authority. Search engine optimization (SEO) is an effective means of getting eyes on your site and products at a lower cost. SEO can be done in-house or outsourced to a digital marketing agency that provides SEO services.
4. Maintain Customer Loyalty With Specials
Ammofast shares that your loyal customer base is who you should be catering to during an economic downturn. Run specials that you send out to repeat customers to show you appreciate their business, especially during difficult financial times. It will be easier to gain the business of customers who already trust your brand and your products than to find new customers.
5. Find the Marketing Channels That Work Best
During a recession, you will want to find the marketing channels with the highest ROI for your business and focus on them. INTUEAT shares that businesses should put more emphasis on high-value channels during uncertain times. This will help your e-commerce business thrive in an economic recession.
6. Ramp Up Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are a great way to get repeat customers who come back time and time again shares a representative from Boutique Film Lab. If you don’t already have a good loyalty program in place that provides customers with benefits, you need to start one. These programs should take into account reduced consumer spending during a recession and offer good discounts.
7. Utilize Content Marketing
A representative from Koloden says that content marketing is an inexpensive way for e-commerce businesses to gain traffic and new customers. By putting out blogs and other forms of content that provide value to users, it introduces your brand as a trustworthy authority in your industry. Working with a marketing agency for content marketing services is well worth the investment.
8. Enhance the Customer Experience
During times of economic uncertainty, customer experience is more important than ever, says a representative from Kol Foods. Take time to enhance the customer experience on your e-commerce site. Whether that means taking a look at your web development, focusing on SEO, or adding advanced features for a smoother online experience. Whatever the case may be, keeping your customers’ shopping experience top of mind is critical to keeping your business profitable during a recession.
From not cutting your marketing budget to enhancing the customer experience, these tips will help you prepare to stay profitable during the recession. We hope this guide was helpful to you and that you have a better idea of the steps you can take to prepare your e-commerce business.