At slightest thrice a week, idiosyncratic asks maine if our bureau concern has declined due to the fact that of economical uncertainty. My answer: No. Enterprise companies person not slowed down oregon pulled back. If anything, they are accelerating.

Consider this: 17% of companies are readying RFPs this year, according to the 2023 State of the ESP RFP. You mightiness not deliberation that sounds similar a ample number, but it is if you standard that fig to industries. So, that doesn’t dependable similar a pullback to me.

Among the clients for whom we negociate RFPs, we spot much requests for exertion platforms that assistance marketers execute and innovate faster. They ask, “What tin I bash to insulate myself from the coming economical apocalypse if it happens by being innovative and agile?”

Below are astute decisions to amended your business, whether the system goes sour oregon not.

1. Rethink that RFP

Before you regenerate oregon adhd technology, inquire yourself whether you maxed retired your existent functionality. Whenever anybody asks maine to commencement an RFP, my archetypal question is, “Are you utilizing everything the level gives you close now?”

Dig deeper: Economic uncertainty means marketers volition re-evaluate advertisement buys much often successful 2023

A regularisation of thumb holds that marketers usage lone astir 20% to 30% of what a tech level offers. Maybe they didn’t person clip to larn however to usage the truly chill stuff. Or the vendor didn’t connection training. Or they couldn’t get the level to integrate with outer information sources. Sometimes it doesn’t substance however innovative the level is. It has truthful galore different deficits that you inactive request to switch.

Today’s vendor marketplace makes the RFP process overmuch much challenging if you don’t person idiosyncratic to bash the work. Look astatine what you’re paying for present but not utilizing earlier opening the time-consuming and perchance disruptive process of uncovering thing new.

2. Develop a program to displacement your selling priorities

Remember when, astatine the tallness of COVID, email saved ecommerce? That’s not an exaggeration. Many companies rediscovered however good email drives income and gross and builds lawsuit relationships, particularly during a crisis.

Your CEO mightiness retrieve that. If the CEO asks however the institution could alteration its selling approach, what would you say?

If your email programme became your company’s leader this past fewer years, it’s adjacent much apt that your CEO volition question your input now. But adjacent if it conscionable kept connected keepin’ on, you should inactive person a program for the adjacent fewer months that lays retired your options and however you could usage them for selling against a downturn.

What to enactment successful your plan

It shouldn’t statesman and extremity with “Send much email.” If your customers don’t person the wealth to bargain much often oregon to capable larger carts, sending much offers won’t determination the gross needle.

Look astatine your targeting. Consider your segmentation program. Review your terms operation connected promotions. What should it look similar to stimulate much sales?

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Identify segments that tin beryllium much lucrative to target, specified arsenic regular buyers, radical who bargain astatine afloat terms alternatively of waiting for income and shoppers who nonstop you wide acquisition oregon upgrade intent signals. 

Look for propensity to purchase. Consider processing a next-logical-purchase program that moves beyond cross-selling oregon upselling.

If your CEO asks for your advice, that’s arsenic overmuch of a blue-sky question arsenic you’ll ever get. So beryllium acceptable to jump. Don’t halt to deliberation astir the process. Be capable to respond rapidly with a plan. 

It could spell similar this: “We request to operation campaigns astir our champion customers’ propensity to bargain successful these lines. Here’s what those email campaigns would look like.”

Develop your program now, and person it acceptable to spell erstwhile the CEO oregon different high-ranking enforcement comes calling. But adjacent if that telephone ne'er comes, if the recession doesn’t happen, oregon if your customers support buying, wherefore not execute your program anyhow alternatively of doing concern arsenic usual? This is an fantabulous accidental to deliberation strategically without getting bogged down oregon distracted by tactics.

If you’re unsure wherever to start, statesman with an email audit. This tin assistance you find gaps and different weaknesses successful your messaging strategy. (Get inheritance accusation and details successful this earlier MarTech column: 10 questions to inquire erstwhile auditing your email program.)

3. Educate yourself and scope retired to your community

Think astir each the proposal — successful columns similar this connected MarTech, during webinars, successful achromatic papers and guides — that poured retired arsenic the concern satellite shifted gears during the pandemic. Expect the aforesaid if the system stutters.

Besides these thought enactment sources, you tin telephone connected your email communities for proposal and ideas. These communities thrive due to the fact that the members provender disconnected each different for enactment and advice. 

Watch the quality each day. Raise your sights and amended yourself astir what’s happening successful the broader system beyond your vertical. Maybe you weren’t straight affected by the wide layoffs that person rolled done the tech industry, but the repercussions could impact your institution oregon industry.

Spend astatine slightest an hr a week speechmaking up connected everything that’s happening successful email, societal media and mobile marketing, successful privateness authorities and lawsuit expectations. Add to this cauldron of contented quality astir changes successful user behavior, the unemployment complaint and the economical interaction they could have.

Be informed truthful that erstwhile your CEO asks for your advice, you tin study what’s happening successful your contiguous market. CEOs tin telephone connected higher-level concern forecasts, but you volition beryllium the adept connected your marketplace conditions.

Wrapping up

Use these suggestions to jumpstart your ain thinking. If you privation to pat into the added functionalities a caller vendor tin supply truthful you tin summation your business, past spell for it. Suppose implementing propensity is the close strategy to amended your selling results; get it done. 

The 1 happening that marks a imaginable recession is what we saw during COVID: fast-reaction pivots that standard to a caller marketplace condition. A recession doesn’t person to beryllium scary. But present is not the clip to trust connected the adage that email is recession-proof. 

Keep your oculus connected the future. Think backmost to November 2019. How would you person prepared if you had known that the satellite would unopen down 3 months later? You person that clip now. What’s your plan?