The Cost of Cutting Back

This isn’t just a theory. It’s a pattern, repeated over decades, backed by data, and too often ignored. But why do businesses keep making the same mistake?

Here, Amelia Redge, Agency Director at Reech – a full-service marketing agency based in the Midlands but working with businesses worldwide – explains how brands can weather economic uncertainty without disappearing from their audience’s radar. Because in today’s property landscape, visibility isn’t optional. It’s survival. 

The Visibility Vacuum

When businesses hit pause on marketing during temporary downturns, they’re not saving money, they’re surrendering space. And in the highly competitive property sector, this isn’t a strategic commercial move. Because silence isn’t neutral, it’s a signal. When a brand retreats, its competitors double down. They adapt, get creative, and claim the attention that’s been vacated.  

And when the dust settles, guess whose name is top-of-mind? 

Marketing isn’t just about promotion, it’s about presence. In an age of short attention spans and relentless content churn, out of sight really does mean out of mind. For property businesses, this can mean losing hard-won awareness, leads, and long-term revenue. 

The Long-Term Fallout

Let’s be brutally honest: rebuilding reputation costs more than maintaining. A lot more. 

Brands that drop visibility during difficult times face three steep challenges when they return to the market:

• Rebuilding Trust | audiences notice when you go quiet, and trust wanes when brands vanish in moments that matter the most.

• Re-engaging Audiences | it’s harder (and more costly) to reacquire attention than to retain it. Algorithms don’t wait, and neither do prospects. 

• Reclaiming Position | markets shift fast. Really fast. Competitors fill voids, disruptors emerge, and returning players find themselves not back where they left off, but way behind. 

Consistency Is Currency

Marketing consistency is a competitive advantage. And that doesn’t mean spending blindly and hoping for the best. It means staying present, relevant, and smart. The most resilient brands understand that the real return on investment (ROI) in marketing isn’t measured in single campaigns but in momentum. 

The strategy should focus on: 

• Compounding Visibility

Share regular content, social posts, and thought leadership pieces to keep the narrative flowing and audiences engaged. 

• Audience Retention

Keep clients and prospects informed, inspired, and entertained to sustain relationships – especially when buying cycles are long. 

• Market Confidence

Stay visible – it signals stability and builds confidence with customers, partners, and stakeholders alike. 

Brands that show up in hard times earn something that money can’t buy: credibility. And this goes a long way when nurturing relationships, maintaining trust, and showcasing your authority.

Lessons from Past Downturns

This isn’t just opinion or guesswork. There are decades of data to show this trend – across a variety of industries, periods, and regions. It’s not a one-time thing, but a recurrence that can be learnt from. 

For example, during the 2008 recession, brands that maintained or increased marketing spend saw 3.5x more brand visibility than those who cut back. And a McGraw-Hill study of 600 businesses found that those that advertised during the early 1980s recession grew 256% more than those that didn’t. 

Why? Because marketing is not a tap to be turned on and off. In fact, once it stops, it takes enormous effort to get moving again. 

Strategic, Not Extravagant

The harsh reality is that most businesses aren’t operating with surplus budgets during challenging economic climates. In these periods, success isn’t about spending heavily on elaborate campaigns but about making smart and strategic use of the knowledge, resources, and skills already available. 

1. Prioritise Core Channels

Identify where audiences spend time and focus efforts there. If that’s LinkedIn and email, those channels should be prioritised. If it’s the website, it must be optimised relentlessly. Trying to be everywhere spreads resources too thin and quickly becomes white noise. It’s far more effective to be present where it matters and share quality content. 

2. Repurpose Relentlessly

Maximise every asset. A single thought leadership piece can be utilised into multiple formats – social media posts, infographics, blogs, newsletters, and more. Webinars can be recorded, statistics refaced, and insights reused across various platforms. The hard work has already been done, now it’s about making that content work harder and reach further. 

3. Lean Into Organic Visibility

SEO, email marketing, PR, and organic social media offer high-impact visibility without the need for large budgets. What they do require is consistency and value. By continuing to share insights, updates, and thought-provoking content, brands can maintain a presence and establish authority – ensuring they stay front-of-mind with the audiences that matter most. 

4. Focus on Brand Voice

Brands should use periods of competitor silence as an opportunity to get louder, reinforcing their identity, values, and the reasons their audience should care. 

5. Be Human

During uncertainty, people crave honesty and leadership. Talk to them like peers, share challenges, and offer value without asking for anything in return. Authenticity always wins. 

6. Rely on Expertise

Now is not the time to go it alone. Partnering with experienced marketers can bring experience, efficiency, and fresh perspective to navigate the turbulent times. They can help avoid costly mishaps, streamline efforts, and stay strategic with limited resources. Leaning on specialists isn’t a luxury – it’s a smart investment in doing fewer things better. 

Navigating Tough Times

Before pressing pause on plans, be sure to understand the real value of marketing and the costly consequences of turning it off – even if only temporarily. 

Tough times test more than balance sheets, they test belief. Belief in the brand, its value, its audience, and its future. Pulling back on marketing may seem like a quick win but, in reality, it will result in a long-term loss. 

Investing in visibility, even modestly, is much more than just marketing; it’s leadership. It signals to the audience that the business is not only present when conditions are favourable but committed for the long haul. Because when the market rebounds – and it always does – the brands that maintained their presence during the storm won’t just survive, they’ll be the ones leading the rebuild. 

Established in 2009 with a clear vision to help build successful brands, Reech has since evolved into one of the UK’s most reputable full-service marketing agencies, renowned for delivering results-driven campaigns with creativity at its core. Headquartered in Shrewsbury, but working with brands and businesses globally, Reech is a recognised Shopify, Mailchimp, Google, META, and WordPress partner, and has officially been named as a top 20 branding agency outside of London by The Drum Recommends.