Marketing During a Downturn: How to Weather Layoffs
The start of 2023 has been tough for B2B marketing teams, particularly in the tech sector. Industry-wide layoffs have impacted a wide range of organizations, including titans such as Google, Amazon, Salesforce, and Meta. Stories of companies laying off anywhere from 10 to 30% of their workforce have trickled out and become commonplace.
The harsh reality is that marketing teams are disproportionately affected by layoffs and downsizing in economic slumps. Leadership teams often cut marketing’s budget and eventually headcount when times start to get tougher. This unfortunate state of affairs leaves marketing professionals scrambling to figure out where to turn for their next opportunity. And, it ultimately leaves a dwindling marketing workforce at those companies to pick up the pieces and try to build a demand generation motion again, but with limited resources. Marketing teams can begin to feel deja vu with this type of feedback loop, and rightfully so.
The question is - does it need to be this way? How can marketing teams get in front of downturns like this, and stop this feedback loop from taking place? Is there any way for marketing leadership to prove their work drives results, and to convince leaders in the C-suite to cut elsewhere?
As part of StudioPod’s Content Frequencies series, Janelle Amos, the founder of Elevate Growth and a demand gen consultant, joined StudioPod co-founder TJ Bonaventura. Their conversation began with lighter topics (full conversation here) but ultimately meandered to proving marketing’s worth during tough economic times. Janelle’s expertise in demand and revenue generation proved very valuable for positioning marketing during a recession.
Layoffs during economic downturns - why marketing?
For about as long as the tech sector has existed, marketing teams have been hit hard when companies decide to make cuts. As an example, here is an article from 2001 that is plainly titled “Corporate marketing staffs often first to be cut when layoffs start.” That trend has not cooled down as tech has progressed in the 21st century. A report from Business News Daily found that Marketing ranked third among all departments in terms of concern and anxiety over layoffs, just trailing Product Management and Quality Assurance.
Why does marketing suffer so greatly during belt-tightening periods? The first answer is pretty straightforward and obvious. Companies restrict budgets when times get tough. Marketing teams do spend money on things like demand generation, lead buys, brand and content initiatives, and advertising. So, as marketing teams have their budgets slashed in corporate meetings, layoffs follow soon after.
Shiny objects - why do marketing teams chase them?
Janelle Amos has another theory as to why marketing teams are some of the first to get slashed when companies plan layoffs. “B2B marketers are known for constantly chasing shiny objects and they sabotage their own marketing results because they never give anything enough time to actually be measured and to be tested. They just chase and chase and chase.” She continues, “And so when it comes to the middle of a recession, or hard times in the economy, what’s the first thing that gets cut? Marketing. Why? Because we’re not able to justify and showcase our impact because we’re too busy chasing.”
Janelle’s theory of shiny objects is pretty interchangeable with following whatever marketing trends are en vogue. To be fair, StudioPod’s Content Frequencies series has covered content marketing trends before, in our interview with Amanda Natividad of SparkToro. But as we also covered with Grant Taleck, following trends can only get marketing teams so far; the quality of the marketing plan, or content publishing strategy, needs to be sound as well.
How can marketing teams avoid the allure of the “shiny object?” It starts with developing sound plans, with clearly defined goals and measures of success. “[Marketing teams] have to determine their measures of success upfront,” Janelle says. “Determining those KPIs and then not constantly changing them is key.” When marketing leadership can determine what business objectives certain initiatives will accomplish, and then how to successfully measure the initiatives’ impact, teams are more likely to be able to execute and not get distracted by the flashy trend of the week.
The importance of asking why
Janelle has another strong idea for how marketing can demonstrate its impact to company leadership, and it’s a simple suggestion - by asking “why?” For instance, when C-level executives push marketing teams to pursue a distracting path, Janelle encourages marketing leaders to ask why they should. “I’ve been in a position where a request came from a CEO saying ‘we need to be doing this,’ and the first question I would ask is ‘why?’” Janelle says.
Janelle makes clear that simply asking for more clarification is not enough. Marketing leaders should feel comfortable speaking up and making their voices heard. “Ask what [C-level executives] want to get out of [a new initiative] and then assess if it actually makes sense, and then push back,” Janelle advises.
By asking why, pushing back on leadership when it makes sense, and making clear that marketing has clear plans and objectives for crucial business outcomes, marketing teams can more forcefully showcase their importance to the business as a whole. This effort can provide protection when cuts need to be made.
How B2B podcasting can fit into org-wide planning
Can a company podcast fit into a marketing organization’s pillars for success, even during tough economic times? Janelle thinks so. “My recommendation as a demand gen consultant is to have one long form piece of content that a business can use. If that’s a podcast, great. Probably like 45 minutes to an hour that you can then have just raw material that you can chop up and mass distribute on the other channels to your audience,” she advises.
Essentially, Janelle encourages teams to repurpose content and mass distribute at scale. One company podcast episode can then be the central hub from which any number of additional pieces of content are generated. With distribution like this, Janelle says, “That’s a foundational content demand generation strategy that at a minimum B2B companies should be implementing.”
StudioPod works with clients to create skillfully executed podcasts that are prime for content distribution efforts. Our producers work with brands to develop their own B2B podcasts rich in valuable content. Reach out to us to find out how StudioPod can level up your brand’s marketing strategy.
