How to Market Through Market Uncertainty

We originally shared this content as an email newsletter in early April 2025. We’ve decided to share it again here, only slightly modified for our blog. Use the form below to sign up for future emails.

If reading the news gets your blood pressure spiking, I hope this email manages to give you some calm.

Let’s be honest: It’s bleak out there.

Retirement accounts are plummeting. Jobs are disappearing. And every survey I read shows business owners around the country are panicking.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you everything is fine. This is not fine.

But you can get through it. All of this—the tariffs, the economic uncertainty, the constant flux of business—it’s all manageable.

Here’s a three-step marketing strategy to consider while it feels like the world’s on fire:

  1. Revisit Your Goals, KPIs, and Overall Performance
  2. Develop Your Strategy (And Keep Your Foot On the Gas)
  3. Consider Low-Cost Marketing Efforts

To learn more, grab some time on my calendar or read the rest of this email (which, I’ll admit, turned out a lot longer than I originally intended):

Revisit Your Goals

Revisit Your Goals, KPIs, And Overall Performance

You can leverage our recent leads calculator/worksheet if you need to, but the most important questions to ask are:

  • Which marketing channels generate the largest number of high-value leads?
  • Which marketing channels deserve greater investment?
  • Which marketing channels deserve less budget?

While you’re reconsidering your marketing approach, remember this: The ones who came out strongest in previous times of economic downturn are those who fought through it. 

It’s true, and here’s some of the proof:

  • 📈 During the Great Recession, Harvard Business Review published an article called “How to Market In A Downturn.” The crux? “Companies that maintain marketing during a downturn bounce back faster and stronger than those that cut budgets entirely.”
  • 📈 During the recession in the ‘80s, companies that maintained or increased their marketing budgets outperformed the competition in the following three years—by up to 275%! That’s data from McGraw-Hill.

Completely eliminating your marketing budget right now could mean becoming invisible in the market, which allows your competition to swoop in and build their presence. 

Develop Your Strategy (And Keep Your Foot On the Gas)

If you’re a private company, now’s the time to thank your lucky stars you don’t have to answer to anxious, frustrated stockholders. 

You have the flexibility to experiment.

Our recommendations:

1. Get Smarter. Now that you’ve analyzed your marketing budget, it’s time to double down on those proven channels. 

2. Keep Developing. Now’s the best time to invest in training and resources for your marketing team. 

3. Test and Tweak Quickly. During uncertain times, agility is your superpower. Launch campaigns quickly, measure performance in real time, and make data-backed adjustments on the fly. 

Consider Low-Cost Marketing Efforts

A few years ago, I wrote one of our most popular blog posts: If I Only Had $100 For Marketing…

You’ll find plenty of low-cost marketing ideas in there, but here are a few more you can try out:

1. Develop A “Talk Trigger.” A talk trigger is any part of your customer experience that gets customers talking to their friends, family, and peers about your company. 

One of the most famous examples is the burger shop that lets patrons pick from a deck of playing cards. If they pull a joker, their meal is comped!  

2. Pay Attention to Your Google Business Profile. Google Business is one of the most underutilized marketing tools in the world. I’ll say it again, but louder: 

📢 GOOGLE BUSINESS IS ONE OF THE MOST UNDERUTILIZED MARKETING TOOLS IN THE WORLD. 📢 

If you’re a small, local business, ask for Google reviews, post to your account regularly, and, for the love of marketing, make sure your profile is complete, accurate, and updated. 

Remember: 98% of consumers use the internet to research local companies, and 87% read Google reviews!

3. Be Where Your Customers Are. Remember “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid? Instead of “I want to be where the people are,” sing “I want to be where my customers are!” 

Attend trade shows, community events, and other high-traffic areas where your target audience is already gathered. 

Two critical facts to remember:

  • 91% of consumers say they have more positive feelings about brands after attending events.
  • 74% are more likely to purchase products promoted at live events.

Oh, and now’s probably a good time to remind you we also tackle event planning and event coordination.😏

Find Support

Times are scary.

But we’re here to help.

Whether you simply want to bat around ideas or need a strategic partner for the foreseeable future, count on Poetica Marketing. 

Schedule some time with me, or respond to this email so we can get started. 

Best of luck, 

Pat