Many would agree there’s a cloud of uncertainty hanging over marketing at this moment in time. Growth has slowed, budgets are under scrutiny, and lots of businesses are asking whether to pull back or push forward.
Personally, I’m hearing two main responses in the conversations I have with clients and peers:
- Cut, pause, or do nothing — hope to wait it out
- Doubt the value of marketing altogether — especially SEO, which some claim is “dying”
But here’s something I believe: the brands that maintain smart visibility now will outperform when the market turns. You don’t have to spend recklessly, but stepping back entirely is a gamble few can afford.
Formula 1 teams, for example. They plan the next season’s car 12–18 months ahead. But do they give up on the current season’s car? No. They work on both. They don’t abandon the present for the future. They keep on fine tuning and operating strategically. A reminder that short term execution and long-term thinking must run side-by-side.
And what about when conditions get tough? That’s so often where the biggest gains are made. As Ayrton Senna famously said: “You cannot overtake 15 cars in sunny weather… but you can when it’s raining.” In other words: downturns create the space to make bold moves. Visibility becomes more valuable, not less.
So with all of this in mind, I wanted to take the opportunity to share my thoughts on a few things:
- Why cutting marketing may hinder your recovery once the economy picks up
- What you truly can control in marketing, even with less
- How to decide whether to cut, hold or double down — and what that looks like in practice
Let’s dig in.
The paradox of cutting marketing in a downturn
The instinct to slash marketing is understandable. When revenue falls, marketing budgets often look like the easiest line to trim. But multiple studies and historical patterns show that cutting deeply now can slow your rebound — and allow competitors to overtake you when growth returns.
📉 Evidence that cuts are happening
In Q1 2025, UK firms cut marketing budgets for the first time in four years. According to the IPA Bellwether Report, a net balance of –4.8% of companies reduced their spend.
At the same time, the other marketing category (i.e. unclassified paid marketing) saw the steepest decline: a net balance of –11.7%.
However, Gartner’s 2025 CMO Spend Survey shows that marketing budgets remained flat as a share of revenue — at 7.7% — suggesting many companies are resisting deeper cuts.
These patterns show companies are cautious — but not giving up. Many are shifting spend, optimising performance, and prioritising investment that delivers measurable return.
🔍 Why cutting marketing can backfire
| What you lose | Why it matters in recovery |
| Visibility & awareness | When demand returns, you may be forgotten or overshadowed |
| Talent & momentum | Cut staff, and you lose institutional knowledge and momentum |
| Brand strength | Brand equity erodes when projects stop, messages fade |
| Pipeline deficiency | Fewer leads now means more pressure later to catch up |
This isn’t just opinion. Harvard Business Review research shows that companies who maintain or increase marketing spend during downturns recover faster and grow stronger in the long run. It’s a while back admittedly, but one 2010 study, for example, found that post-recession growth rates were higher for those who invested during downturns.
So while the pressure to cut is real, the opportunity in holding or refocusing marketing is real too.
Cut the marketing, cut the pipeline?
When you reduce marketing activity, you’re not just saving budget — you’re also starving your pipeline. Leads dry up. Brand visibility drops. Recovery starts to fade further out of reach.
Your ability to convert tomorrow is shaped by what you invest in today.
💡 Marketing is the fuel. Stop feeding the engine, and you won’t be ready when the lights turn green.
Brands that invest through downturns don’t just “spend money” — they buy long-term visibility. They stay top of mind. And when consumer confidence returns, they’re first in line to benefit.
📚 What does history tell us?
A famous case study from the Great Depression says it all. In the 1930s, cereal giant Kellogg’s doubled its advertising spend while rival Post cut back. As a result, Kellogg’s saw profits grow, and emerged as the dominant market leader — a position it never gave up.
That story still speaks to the power of maintaining presence when others retreat.
Marketing budget planning – what you CAN control
In uncertain times, it’s easy to focus on what’s outside your control: the economy, interest rates, buyer hesitation.
But smart leaders shift the lens — from what can we cut? to how can we make this work smarter?
Because while you can’t predict what’s next, you can control:
- Your message – how you show up, what you say, and how you position your value
- Your visibility – how easily people can find you, from search to social to voice assistants and AI engines
- Your platform – the systems and strategy that help you scale when the market turns
🎯 A smaller budget doesn’t have to mean smaller ambition. But it does mean sharper focus.
Strategic people planning as a parallel
This is something I’ve seen first-hand with clients working on strategic people planning.
When resources are tight, they don’t always start hiring or restructuring. Instead, they rethink: Do we have the right people doing the right things? Are we clear on priorities? Can we realign roles to free up senior capacity for higher-value tasks?
It’s the same in marketing. You may not be able to do everything – but you can do the right things, better.
Doing more with less ≠ doing nothing
We see this all the time in digital marketing:
- You don’t need to launch five new campaigns – but you can repurpose high-performing content
- You don’t need to build a new website – but you can optimise your existing one for better conversions
- You don’t need to be on every platform – but you can double down where your audience is most active
It’s not about cutting corners. It’s about making strategic choices that keep your growth engine ticking over – so when the upturn comes, you’re not starting from zero.
💡 When others pause, your consistency becomes a competitive advantage.
Where to cut, hold or double down?
When every penny of marketing spend is under the microscope, knowing where to cut – and where to hold your nerve – becomes the difference between staying visible and falling behind.
Here’s how we think about it at Figment:
❌ Where to cut (selectively)
Not every channel is worth keeping if it’s not performing. Some smart, temporary cuts can free up budget for higher-return areas.
For example:
PPC – If your paid campaigns aren’t delivering measurable leads or conversions, you might consider pausing or scaling back. Awareness-only brand-related ads might be worth putting on hold until budgets recover, as they tend not to deliver short-term ROI.
Social ads – If your audience is engaging well with organic posts, test a reduced paid budget, or reallocate that spend to creating content on your website and email channels: the assets you fully control.
Low-value software tools – If you’re paying for marketing platforms you rarely use — like email automation tools, social scheduling systems or expensive CRM add-ons — it might be time to cut back. Replace them with leaner, AI-powered tools that genuinely save you time or help you create better content.
💡 If a channel isn’t contributing to leads, visibility or authority, it’s OK to put it on ice – for now.
➖ Where to hold steady
Some activities are your bare minimum for staying visible and credible – cutting these could potentially harm your long-term position.
SEO and your website – Your digital shopfront. Even if traffic drops short-term, your rankings and authority need ongoing care.
Google Business Profile – Especially for local businesses, it’s essential for map visibility and credibility.
Reputation-building – Reviews, testimonials, case studies – this is trust currency that compounds over time.
🌱 SEO and reputation work in the background – quietly building trust, visibility and future demand.
✅ Where to double down
Tighter budgets demand smarter, more durable marketing assets – the kind that work hard long after you’ve created them.
Content marketing – Blog posts, guides, thought leadership and FAQs can keep ranking, converting, and informing long after publish date.
Helpful SEO content – Not just for bots, but for buyers. Content that answers real questions and builds topical authority.
Your positioning – If your message is unclear or outdated, now’s the time to sharpen it. Especially if competitors are pulling back, giving you the opportunity to take centre stage.
✍️ Great content is a marketing asset, not an expense. It works for you 24/7 – with no media cost attached.
Be the brand that moves while others stall
Tough times create turning points. The businesses that keep showing up consistently — smartly, and with a clear message — are the ones people remember when budgets come back and momentum returns.
Cutting marketing completely might feel like the safest option. But it often means losing visibility just when your competitors are doing the same, leaving your audience with nothing to choose from.
Now’s the time to be strategic, not silent.
Whether it’s finding efficiencies, refining your content plan, or making your SEO or AI search optimisation work harder, there are always ways to stay visible without blowing your budget.
