5 Tips to Recession-Proof Your Marketing Strategy
The political and economic climate directly impacts our small businesses. Is your marketing & advertising strategy recession-proof?
UPDATED FOR 2026
What does recession-proof marketing look like to you? Keep reading for our best tips to maximize a reduced marketing budget.
Heads up: This post getting an update is a recession indicator.
Erica Cundiff
Owner & Creative Director
Blue Honey Rose
If you’re here and reading this, you likely understand the importance of creating a strong, memorable brand for your audience. You likely already have a website that serves as a digital hub for your marketing. If not, I’d start there first.
During economic downturns, even the most well-established brands can struggle to stand out in a crowded market. Recession-proofing your marketing efforts is critical to survival.
As an elder millennial, this is unfortunately not my first rodeo.
The fight for each dollar spent gets a lot harder, and now, more than ever, you need to run a tight ship. In order to help your small business, team, or organization weather the storm, consider utilizing these five recession-proof marketing strategies:
Referral Marketing: Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful marketing tools available. Encourage your satisfied customers to refer their friends and family to your brand, and consider offering incentives for successful referrals. Similarly, reviews are incredibly important for conversion and SEO. Don’t forget the ever-important follow-up email with an easy-to-access review link!
Content Marketing: Content marketing is all about creating valuable, informative content that resonates with your target audience. This can include blog posts, infographics, videos, and more. This is not AI generated slop, but thoughtful storytelling. By providing truly helpful information, you can build a strong relationship with your customers and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
- Bonus Points: Blog posts are great for SEO, GEO, and AIO—just keep them updated and full of keywords relevant to your reader.
- Words of Caution: Since AI-generated results are un-trackable and offer a lottery of responses—we cannot currently attribute or promise ROI on AI responses. We recommend continuing with organic, on-page SEO, which influence AI responses. DO NOT overspend on GEO and AIO.Email Marketing: Email marketing quickly and effectively reaches your customers directly and builds brand loyalty. By sending regular newsletters and promotions, you can keep your customers engaged and informed about your brand on YOUR terms. (Reach out if you need assistance branding your email templates—it’s a critical touchpoint to get right and can be highly impactful if utilized consistently!)
Social Media Marketing: Social media platforms are obviously a great way to connect with your target audience, showcase your brand, and drive traffic to your website. No matter what platform you choose to focus on, it's important to have a consistent presence and genuinely engage with your followers and audience. Check out our latest posts for more on social media marketing!
Influencer Marketing: Partnering with influencers, or micro-influencers—depending on your budget, in your niche can help you reach a new, engaged audience. Influencer marketing allows you to tap into the reach that influencers have developed, and the trust they have with their loyal follwers. This is really helpful for new businesses trying to gain traction in a crowded social media landscape. Can’t afford an influencer’s prices just yet? That’s fine! Use influencer tactics to gain extra footing. Keep reading under “Strategic Social Media Collaborations” below for ideas to grow your reach.
Do you manage a rapidly shrinking budget?
100% FREE things you should prioritize if you haven’t already:
Search Relevancy - Showing up when it counts. You want to show up on Google Maps, in the generated AI results, and in the listings below. The first step to making that happen? Set up your Google Business Profile. Verification can be a pain, so brace yourself, but it’s free and critical to being found online in 2026. Bing has it’s own version too that AI tools use to crawl the internet—it’s worth checking out too.
Networking - As an introvert, I can’t stand a networking event. There. I said it. If you feel the same way, think about joining a book club or a pottery class instead. Networking is just meeting new people and broadening your horizons. Don’t overcomplicate it or make it painful!
Tag your Creative Partners - Tag your photographers, videographers, and designers! We love resharing your posts and are always happy to help you reach new viewers.
If you’re in charge of marketing in today’s landscape, this is where I’d direct funds to maximize impact:
Strategic Social Media Collaborations - Find a brand buddy with a similar target audience and make your dollars count. Think about this like a SuperBowl ad: Big brands put their budget to work by joining forces to reserve pricy blocks, split production costs, and reap mutually beneficial rewards. If you do this on a local level, think of the benefits to each party: everyone gains exposure and new fans. Interested in something like this but don’t know where to start? We frequently manage brand collabs between clients on their behalf. Reach out today with questions!
Print Advertising - Pick a magazine with a long shelf life! I like Edible Blue Ridge and The Roanoker.
Outdoor Advertising - Bus ads, vinyl vehicle wraps, and billboards are all a great way to grab attention. You’d be surprised at the ROI of a moving billboard!
Direct Mail Marketing - After working at some of my past jobs, I wanted to write off direct mail marketing entirely as junk mail. BUT—hear me out, if it’s beautifully designed, created and sent with thoughtful intention, then I think it stands as one of the most effective forms of a print campaign. We work with local print shops that help you refine and purchase your mailing list of targeted addresses so that you reach YOUR people.
Traditional Marketing Collateral - Never discount the power of posters, flyers, and handouts for event marketing. Relying too heavily on social media’s ever-changing algorithms to show your content to the right people can bite you in the butt. Just remember to pick up a cup of coffee AND TIP when you go in and ask local shops if you can hang a flyer. For the love of all that’s holy: Bring your own tape when postering.
Non-traditional Advertising - This can include things like guerrilla campaigns, ambient marketing, environmental design, podcast sponsorships, and product placement. As a child of the 80s/90s—street teams are back in a big way. Reward your most loyal people and the word will spread.
If these strategies are combined in some fashion and applied consistently, then over time you’re going to see steady, sustainable growth—no matter the economic climate.
If you try any of these tactics and recession-proof strategies, tag us in a post about your results!
Current Blue Honey Rose Clients:
Submit a ticket if you’re reserving advertising space! We’d love to create a fresh ad for you designed according to your publications specs!
Post Updated: February 4th 2026
Original Post Date: February 3rd, 2023
