There’s a lot of chatter in the media right now about recessions, interest rates and slowdowns, which has several clients worried and wondering about shifting strategies. It’s true – perhaps the housing market won’t be in a multiple bidding war for every listing – but if it is, we have the tool to manage those offers!

A looming recession just might mean you have to try harder than you’ve had the last couple years to convince a customer that your business or community is the right home for them. Clients ask us how to shift what they should focus on if there’s a slowdown and how budgets should be impacted. Here are a couple thoughts from the Head Quack:

Digital Ads

I’ve heard from other agency owners that clients are pulling back on spending for paid social and search engine marketing. That strategy is counterintuitive, like taking the foot off the gas instead of trying harder to get consumers in the door. The good news is that with other competition decreasing their digital ad spending, you get more bang for your buck and clicks won’t be as expensive. There has also been a major shift in ad efficacy, so you need an agency that stays on top of trends. If you’re targeting a younger demographic, perhaps now is a time to consider TikTok advertising?

Websites

Everybody has been so busy blowing and going that they haven’t had the time for capacity to focus on corporate initiatives, such as a corporate website redesigns. If things are slow, it’s a great time to make sure your website appeals to your target market! We are getting a lot of inquiries about redoing corporate websites, which is great timing to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly, highly accessible and contemporary. We are informing our clients that there are predatory attorneys going after housing websites that are not WCAG compliant, which is a list of compliance guidelines for web accessibility and usability. For those that are interested in lead generation, we integrate a great CRM solution and have several builder tools for WordPress sites. If your website was developed prior to 2020, at a minimum we definitely need to check under the hood!

Demand is still strong in our core YDM housing markets and we’re still seeing strong in-migration; therefore, in markets like Charlotte, supply still can’t keep up with demand. Hopefully any impact will be tempered, but having worked through the 2008 real estate crash, I am well aware that we are not immune to the effects of the economy.

If you would like us to do an analysis of ads, website traffic and projections for various search engine spends, please let us know!

Here are a few other articles to peruse when considering how to adjust your marketing during a recession:

• MNI Targeted Media – How Advertising in a Recession Can Preserve Your Brand
• Harvard Business Review – How to Market in a Downturn
• Forbes – When a Recession Comes, Don’t Stop Advertising

Contact us if you’d like any of the additional resources we gathered that analyze strategies from recessions past:

• Analysis of Research of Advertising in a Recession
• Marketing During a Downturn
• Roaring out of a Recession