If your customers see your brand as “nice to have,” you’ve already lost.
Recessions don’t kill great products – they expose weak messaging. It’s not about discounting your prices or spamming promotions. It’s about positioning your brand as emotionally essential.
Because in downturns, people don’t stop spending – they just spend more intentionally. And intentional spending goes to brands that understand their customers’ fears, desires, and shifting priorities. DTC companies that win during recessions aren’t the ones shouting louder – they’re the ones speaking directly to what their audience is going through.
Emily Heyward calls this “building from obsession.”
Alex Lieberman calls it “being emotionally intelligent at scale.”
Andy Dunn says great brand messaging creates “irrational loyalty.”
In a downturn, that’s the only kind that matters. If your message doesn’t say “you need this,” your customers will say “maybe later.”
Let’s fix that.
1. Stop selling features – start selling feelings.
When money’s tight, emotions still open wallets. Customers justify purchases with logic, but decide with emotion.
Your features don’t matter unless they connect to a deep desire. Is it relief? Confidence? Belonging? Status? Find the emotion your product satisfies, and lead with that.
In recessions, people seek security, comfort, control. Brands that communicate emotional outcomes win loyalty faster.
This isn’t fluff – it’s behavioral science. Emily Heyward calls this “building brands people are obsessed with.” Obsessions aren’t rational – they’re emotional.
People don’t stay loyal to products. They stay loyal to how a product makes them feel.
Sell that feeling – or get forgotten.
2. Shrink the message. Sharpen the point.
A foggy message is a death sentence in a downturn. If customers don’t “get it” immediately, they bounce.
Recession messaging must pass the billboard test: 3 seconds or less. Kill cleverness. Cut jargon. Say the thing – fast and clearly.
Most brands will get quieter. Or louder. You’ll do something different -you’ll get clearer. Clarity cuts through chaos. Alex Lieberman calls it “emotional intelligence at scale” – but it starts with simple words.
Make your message stick like Velcro.
Confuse them now? You’ll lose them forever.
3. Reposition from “want” to “need.”
In stable times, customers buy what they want. In recessions, they buy what they can’t do without.
Your job is to bridge that gap. Not by exaggerating – by reframing.
How is your product essential to their well-being, time, or peace of mind? This is copy as survival. Don’t just show value – highlight the cost of not buying. “If you don’t have this, here’s what happens” hits harder in uncertain times.
Andy Dunn calls this “irrational loyalty” – it’s built on emotional urgency. Make your message feel like a lifeline.
“Nice to have” is a delay.
“Need to have” is a decision.
4. Anchor to the new reality.
Your pre-recession messaging might’ve worked last year. It won’t work now. People are more cautious, more anxious, more skeptical.
Your job is to meet them where they are – not where they were. Speak directly to the new pain points they’re navigating.
Great brands don’t pretend everything’s fine. They say: “We know things are tough – here’s how we’re helping.” That tone builds immediate trust. Because tone-deaf brands? They get tuned out.
If you won’t acknowledge the shift, don’t expect your customer to shift with you.
5. Speak your customer’s language – verbatim.
You don’t need to guess what to say. Your customers are already saying it. In reviews. In Reddit threads. In Instagram comments.
They’re giving you gold – word-for-word.
Use it.
This isn’t about clever taglines. It’s about mirroring emotion. When customers hear their own language reflected back, they feel seen.
Emily Heyward built brands by listening harder than anyone else. That’s not creative – it’s empathetic.
The best messaging isn’t invented. It’s repeated back perfectly.
(Bonus) 6. Make your existing customers feel like VIPs.
Loyalty is your recession moat. Your most powerful audience isn’t new – it’s already in your email list.
Retain them. Reward them. Remind them they matter.
Turn customers into insiders, not just buyers. Because insiders don’t just buy – they evangelize.
Bonobos grew by loving their early adopters loudly. Andy Dunn knew word-of-mouth was the best marketing budget. Especially when marketing budgets shrink.
The quieter the economy, the louder your loyalty needs to be. Treat retention like revenue – because it is.
Want to recession-proof your brand? Start with the people who already said “yes.”
Conclusion
Recessions don’t just test your product – they test your message. If your brand can’t make customers feel something now, it won’t be remembered later.
Emotion > logic.
Clarity > cleverness.
Loyalty > attention.
And in a downturn, “nice to have” gets cut first.
So stop being nice.
Start being needed.
If this resonated, here’s what to do next:
→ If you’re tired of content that fills space instead of driving sales, let’s talk. Schedule a quick demo.
→ If you’re ready to turn product pages, email flows, landing copy, and more into silent salespeople for your brand, subscribe to either our Unlimited Standard Plan or Unlimited Professional Plan to get started.
Your story deserves better than generic copy.
We make it unforgettable.