Pipeline Over Panic: The Moves That Actually Work in a Down Economy

With global trade tensions, a volatile start to Trump’s second term, and a jittery stock market, U.S. marketers are facing tightened guardrails and frozen budgets (again). CMOs are being asked to defend every dollar, prove every program, and justify why marketing matters. This is especially painful as deal cycles are getting longer, paid media costs are skyrocketing, and pipeline pressure is high.

So what are the savviest marketers doing? Certainly not tucking tail and running. We’re focused with surgical precision on making the right plays and making them count. Let’s get into the rationale (of course, we have some solid research to prove a point), what to focus on now, and what to park for sunnier days.

Brands That Cut Now Pay Later

Any experienced marketer knows that a short-term pullback has longer-term consequences. Peter Field’s well-known research from 2008 for the IPA Effectiveness Awards (based on 20+ years of global brand data) found that brands that maintain or increase share of voice during a downturn generally emerge with stronger post-recession gains in market share and profitability. Brands that cut spend lost visibility and competitive ground that took years to recover.

Fast forward to 2020. McKinsey’s article “Rapid Revenue Recovery: A road map for post-COVID-19 growth” observed that companies that moved quickly to sustain marketing and sales activity (“first movers”) were already “reaping significant rewards” as demand returned.

The lesson still holds. WARC’s Global Ad Spend Outlook 2024/25 (Q4 2024 update) forecasts that worldwide media investment will rise 10.7 percent in 2025, pushing total ad spend past the $1 trillion mark. Meanwhile, brands that are holding steady or selectively reinvesting are gaining ground. The CMOs who traded austerity for adaptability are seeing their bets pay off.

But we’re not delusional either—we know it’s a pretty difficult moment to try to convince your executive team to invest in a flashy brand campaign without an iron-clad tie to direct revenue. We’re not here to tell you to just keep your foot on the gas and fight against all the odds and internal pressures from your CFO. So how do you strike the balance?

What to Actually Do Right Now

This is a revenue game, not a visibility contest. That means putting dollars behind deal progression, not just brand play. While the research and yes, even our gut, tells us not to totally abandon brand, we do have to speak their language and show them we understand the dire straits. This means sales and marketing have to be more aligned than ever. If you thought you were close to sales before, consider yourselves now holding hands and skipping through this minefield together. This market demands precision. Personalization. Partnership.

1. Accelerate Open Opps with Paid Media

The fastest path to revenue is through deals already on the table. And marketing has a role to play—not just in sourcing, but in closing. Right now is the moment to pivot a good chunk of media spend to progressing late-stage deals, open opportunities, and supporting high-intent accounts that are making their way through the funnel.

• Run display or retargeting ads specifically against stalled or late-stage deals. These are the accounts that are circling, and your efforts can help cross them over the finish line.
• Create lifecycle ads that stay in front of key decision-makers between sales touchpoints. Don’t lose steam on the buying committee.
• Ensure you have an AI Agent working deals at all hours. We deploy Qualified and ROIer (our AI SDR) keeps a tab on warm prospects and surging accounts so we never miss an opportunity to engage and progress them through the funnel.

2. Double Down on 1:1 ABX Plays

Forget the wide net. This is the time for hyper-targeted, ABX campaigns that mirror sales motion and reinforce your core GTM strengths.

• Use tools like 6sense to serve deal-stage messaging to high-value accounts.
• Personalize at scale with platforms like PathFactory or Mutiny to dynamically tailor landing environments by persona, vertical, or stage.
  • Personalization is everything. Recent data collected by IDC found that nearly 70% of B2B buyers say their decision on whether to read something is influenced by whether it’s personalized. This is not the step to skip.
• Pair marketing content (ROI calculators, case studies, competitor battlecards) with real-time sales outreach.
• Build custom nurture tracks or retargeting flows that match the exact pain points of each buying committee.

These aren’t “nice to haves”—they’re revenue accelerators.

3. Show Up Where Your Buyers Are In Real Life (or IRL as the cool kids say)

The economy may be struggling, but we are certainly in a post-COVID event boom. People are literally itching to get back to in-person events, conferences, meetups, and more intimate gatherings.

• Show up where your key accounts are. Attend high-impact events where you have the highest propensity to reach not only your ICP but also your key personas and members of the buying committee.
  • Speaking of the buying committee, it’s gotten larger and more complex than ever. There are often “hidden members” influencing decisions, and brands need to engage, reach, and influence more folks within their target accounts. That’s where in-person events shine. They give you access to the entire crew your prospect travels with—what we like to call the “event posse.” Senior titles especially tend to roll deep, bringing peers, advisors, and cross-functional stakeholders along for the ride. The more of them you reach and influence, the stronger your deal position gets.
• Host intimate, high-impact gatherings—executive roundtables, dinners, and problem-solving workshops—that let your sales and marketing teams build trust face-to-face.
• Send marketing with sales on the road—this is a brand-building moment as much as a relationship one.

Events are all about killing two birds with one stone. Marketing gets their brand visibility, sales gets hot leads, and you can tie it all directly back to revenue.

4. Use AI to Work Smarter, Move Faster, and Cut the Crap

AI isn’t magic, but it is damn useful when used right. The savviest marketing teams aren’t chasing shiny objects—they’re using AI to scale what works, ditch what doesn’t, and respond faster to what buyers actually care about.

• Use AI to identify which accounts are showing buying signals, and dynamically prioritize spend and messaging.
• Generate rapid content variations for different personas, verticals, and deal stages without killing your creative team.
• Forecast performance by segment, channel, or tactic to make faster media optimization decisions.

This is where the smart use of AI and automation pays off. We’re using generative AI to speed up versioning, forecast channel performance, and identify what to cut versus what to keep. Sharper signals make all the difference when time and budget are limited.

The reality check

None of this is about “just keep spending.” It’s about protecting the right investments—the ones tied directly to revenue, relationship, and long-term positioning. That means, reallocating with intent to close, and ensuring that every program is built to support both near-term pipeline and long-term growth. This is the playbook for right now. Just practical, revenue-backed strategy built for a high-pressure market.

Outthink. Outplay. Don’t Disappear.

Budget scrutiny is real. So is the opportunity to reset your mix, tighten your targeting, and show up where competitors go quiet. If you’re under pressure to defend spend, don’t just argue for more. Make the case for smarter. Reallocate. Experiment. Measure. Repeat.

Just don’t disappear. Because your audience won’t.