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How to market your business during a downturn

If the country you are based in is going through a downturn, ICAEW has a range of resources to help you successfully market your business in difficult economic times.
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Latest on marketing in a downturn

Read our latest features and articles on marketing your business during a downturn.
Why marketing is essential in a recession
  • Article
  • 05 Aug 2022
The marketing budget is often one of the first to be cut when an economic downturn hits. Anna Stella, CEO of BBSA Marketing, explains why such thinking is flawed.
How one hospitality business was saved by its online arm
  • Article
  • 18 May 2021
ICAEW Insights explores how an immersive-experience bar-restaurant business was able to extend its bricks and mortar business model online, boosting revenues and building brand awareness.
Business spotlight: Brompton Bikes powers ahead
  • Article
  • 29 May 2020
From bikes for the NHS to finance function digitisation, Brompton Bikes has continued to push forward despite the many challenges of coronavirus. George Hawkes-Dawson, the company’s head of finance, tells ICAEW Insights how.

Reports

Special Report 70 - Business resilience
  • Report
  • 2021
Business resilience is a skill not easily learned or acquired, but so vital to the survival and overall success of your business. Use your guide to ensure you have all the right tools in your armoury to succeed in such uncertain times.
Special report - Corporate image
  • Report
  • 2018
Developing and enhancing your branding as a business can greatly enhance your market presence, especially on-line. This report covers the most important aspects to bear in mind when developing a brand strategy.
More reports

Business press

The Library provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive How marketing can thrive in the worst of times
  • Article
  • 10 May 2020
  • Bradley Johnson
Ten lessons from 'Downtime Opportunity: 2020 Edition', an Ad Age white paper examining innovation in the worst of times, from the 1930s to 2020. The report is based on a deep dive into Ad Age's archives, supplemented with additional marketing research and government data.
Exclusive Marketing in a recession: the one fundamental question
  • Article
  • 01 Oct 2019
  • Logan Wedgewood
The biggest marketing question to answer during a recession is: 'How do we build trust?', Logan Wedgwood suggests. Five pointers for building trust and confidence through your marketing are shared by the author.
Exclusive Strategies during recessionary times
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2017
  • Sunil Lakhani, Brian H. Kleiner
This article addresses the strategic behaviour adopted by U.S. firms to deal with the Great Recession of 2008 to 2009. The strategies discovered from the authors' research provide strong tools for companies to deal with economic shocks. Understanding strategies, including marketing strategies, that work and avoiding strategic mistakes could make the difference between surviving or folding during economically turbulent times.
Exclusive Keys to success: how to effectively rebrand during a recession
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2011
  • Kelly Roddy
Businesses should view a recession as an opportunity to grow or reinvent their brands instead of just waiting for the recession to end.
Exclusive Recession-proof your business
  • Article
  • 01 Jun 2010
  • Pam Lontos
Public accounting firms can use publicity to keep current and prospective clients aware of their presence.
Exclusive Hey, little spender
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2010
  • Amy Duff
Small firms have been reducing their marketing expenditure to cope with the recession.
Exclusive Leveraging business cycle ups and downs
  • Article
  • 01 Dec 2009
  • Greg Autry, Peter Navarro
A look at how firms can forecast business cycles and formulate strategies to take advantage of them.
Exclusive How to market in a downturn
  • Article
  • 01 Apr 2009
  • John A. Quelch, Katherine E. Jocz
Since no two recessions are exactly alike marketers find themselves in poorly charted waters every time one occurs. But guidance is available.

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles and books on marketing in a downturn. Use the link below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

External resources - Guides and articles

Key skills marketers need during an economic downturn
  • Website
  • Chartered Institute of Marketing
In this article Patrick Rea, CIM course director and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, argues that investing in upskilling will help businesses (and marketers) position themselves to take advantage of the eventual upswing.
What customers need to hear from you during the COVID crisis
  • Website
  • Harvard Business School
During a crisis is the time when customers need to hear from you most, argue Jill Avery and Richard Edelman. But what do you say?
Your customers have changed. Here's how to engage them again.
  • Website
  • Harvard Business School
The coronavirus makes your customers less able and less willing to spend than before. How should you re-engage with them? Advice is given from Rohit Deshpandé and colleagues in this Harvard Business School article.
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