How Social Media and Influencer Marketing Will Propel Your CPG Brand Through a Recession

When facing a downturn in the economy, we often look to the past for lessons on how to deal with the present. What did other CPG brands do to weather the last recession? Which brands increased profit and exposure when consumer spending was down? Which marketing tactics helped them gain traction, and which were a bad use of their budget?

While we can learn lessons from the past, we must remember that consumer behavior is ever-changing. Attention spans have gotten shorter. Audiences are fragmenting into smaller niches, and new niches are overlapping every day. In other words, throwing content at the whole world doesn’t work. Instead, targeting is crucial, especially during a recession, because you need to reach the audience most likely to engage with and buy your products.

So, what can you do to ensure you’re reaching the people who are most likely to engage with your brand, buy your product and then tell their network about it? Following are a few tips to reach buyers with influencer marketing during a recession. More

Making the Most of Food and Beverage Marketing During a Financial Downturn

When facing a financial downturn, many CPG companies start looking for ways to cut their budgets. Often, the first thing to go is food and beverage marketing. Too many companies believe they can survive the difficult times with their current customer base. But unfortunately, it’s indisputable that sales will most certainly decline without marketing to new customers.

When saving money becomes an absolute necessity, you can still make powerful marketing moves for your food and beverage brand if you’re ready to make some changes to your strategy. More

3 Reasons Brands Should Be Using TikTok

Even at first glance, TikTok is a no-brainer for marketing, and brands are starting to notice. While the app does have a reputation as a social platform for younger generations—think Generation Z and even some older members of Generation Alpha—the truth is that TikTok appeals to people from all ages. Yes, that even includes Baby Boomers.

In fact, only 60% of the nearly one billion monthly TikTokers are Gen Z. Of the remaining, 30% are Generation X and Boomers. These adults are on TikTok for an average of 38 minutes per day. This alone is a great reason to use TikTok for your brand marketing. But there are a few other big reasons you may want to start using this platform. More

The Recession Will Be Over When Moms Say It’s Over

Marketing to Moms During the Recession

Though Warren Buffet recently ruled out a double-dip recession in the U.S., ultimately it’s our country’s moms who will decide when the economy starts showing real signs of recovery.

75 million U.S. moms make or influence 85 percent of all household purchase decisions, representing $2.1 trillion in annual spending power. Brands are counting on American mothers to help them survive the current economic slump, but getting moms to unleash their “purse power” continues to be a struggle.

With up to 45 percent of moms insisting they have “eliminated anything they don’t feel is absolutely necessary from their lives,” and another 29 percent having found ways to cut back on spending in response to the current economic climate, moms are putting brands, products and services under tighter scrutiny than ever before, and making sure every dollar is spent wisely.

According to a BSM Media Study, moms focus on the needs of their families first, and then look for the smaller luxuries they can afford for themselves. Instead of a new pair of boots, in this economy it might be a new magazine or lipgloss. And while nesting was a social issue in the days following 9/11, today it’s an economic one, with 81 percent of moms cutting back on eating out, and 72 percent reducing their out-of-house entertainment altogether, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll.

What does this mean for marketers? It means that moms are interacting with their favorite brands in new ways – like Starbucks on a weekly instead of a daily basis, or Costco pizza instead of Friday night delivery. Experts believe this state-of-mind will continue even after the recession is over for many American families.

Moms have always been more brand loyal than men, but they require more frequent interaction and communications designed specifically for them. Marketers need to make the extra effort to build relationships with their female consumers, whether it’s through social media, influencer recommendations or customer appreciation. They need to start marketing with moms, not at them.

Are moms still loyal to your brand through these economic times?

Why Would Brands Ignore These Women?

Boomer Women Examples

Why Do Brands Ignore Baby Boomer Women?

The other night I got together with several of my friends for an evening of girltalk. One friend is a mom and business owner who recently bought a new car. Another is an empty-nester who just purchased a refrigerator and dryer. A third is a recently-divorced healthcare industry executive who just bought health insurance for herself and her daughter. And finally there’s me: the CEO of a marketing company who last month purchased new office equipment and a widescreen TV. All of these purchases were made by Boomer women, without input from a spouse or significant other.

Because I’m a Boomer woman and specialize in the marketing-to-women space, I’m particularly conscious of how I’m treated by brands. And while I am of a certain age, I’m certainly not ready to be stored in the attic. And neither are my friends. Yet, as Boomer women we’re continually marginalized by brand managers (primarily male) who don’t think any women of value exist over the age of 39.

What they must realize is that those inconsequential 45+ women are the ones that have the most money to spend on everything from vacations, to new homes, and from cars to cosmetics. Some interesting statistics on the purchasing power of Boomer women:

Boomer women buy 65 percent of new cars, and 53 percent of used cars
Boomer women spend more than $55 billion per year on consumer electronics
Boomer women control a net worth of $19 trillion and own more than 3/4 of this country’s financial wealth
Disposable incomes are highest for women aged 45-54
Boomer women are at the peak of their careers, and statistically are the least impacted by the recession

In addition, this group of women will experience the largest population growth over the next 10 years, and the largest transference of wealth from inheritances left by parents and husbands. Yet rarely if ever does one see a marketer’s target audience that extends beyond the age of 49 unless it’s for the senior market. Why?

Marketers Cannot Continue to Ignore Boomer Women

Marketers and the media need to finally realize that the women most ignored are the ones who can do the most good in an economy that continues to struggle. The time of patronizing ads and ignorance is long gone.

Does your brand ignore the largest and fastest-growing spending segment of women? Or are you one of those women that are being ignored?

To Get Economy Moving, Smart Marketers Will Focus On Marketing to Women

Smart Marketers Will Market to Women During a Recession

Women are the CFOs of their families, controlling the purse strings of much of today’s consumer marketplace.

In today’s recession, many women are foregoing shopping trips because they don’t want to see something they like and have to make the agonizing decision whether or not to buy it. Instead, many women are making smaller, “feel good” purchases like lipstick or a latte ––- items that aren’t going to break the bank but still generate a feeling of contentment and alleviate stress – if only for a moment.

During these tough economic times, women are more difficult for marketers to engage. These consumers, who control 85 percent of all purchase decisions and are responsible for $7 trillion in spending, are putting brands, products and services under tighter scrutiny than ever before and making sure that every dollar is spent wisely. Marketers who want to achieve high-value relationships with these consumers after the recession need to develop and grow those relationships now.

Big budget or small, there are plenty of ways to communicate and market to women on an ongoing basis. Maintain contact with them and continue to be part of their conversations. Monitor their concerns and be responsive to gain their loyalty not only during this downturn, but throughout their entire lives.

recession marketing