There’s a classic fable involving the sun and the wind. Watching over a man taking his daily stroll in the park, the wind boastfully poses a challenge to the sun as to which of them could be first to forcefully lift the man’s overcoat off his back.

The wind was confident its blustery gusts would easily whoosh the jacket clear to the next town, but the stiffer the wind blew, the tighter the man gripped his garment.  Once the wind ran out of breath, the sun simply shone bright. Of course, in the warmth of the beaming rays, the man removed the jacket on his own accord.

Somewhere in this, there’s a morale that can be applied to marketing. That being said, you just can’t force people to do things by pushing harder, such as buying your products or services when demand is low. Often, in cycles of low demand, marketers panic, resorting to costly mega-promotional pushes or price wars that just can’t produce ample results.

So, where’s the sunny side to periods of low market demand? Here are three ideas on how to best spend your time and dollars to help ensure a brighter future and enhanced power of persuasion.

1. TAKE TIME OUT TO ANALYZE

Don’t just chalk up low demand to market conditions beyond your control. Be proactive and redirect your internal resources to identify the root causes of low demand or what may be purchasing barriers. Persona and customer journey development through first- and third-party audience research and workshops can give you the insights you need to gain a current understanding of customer needs, preferences and pain points. Perform a market analysis, gather customer feedback, understand purchasing patterns, and stay on top of the competition and ahead of the industry. And don’t forget to seek feedback from your employees. There are often hidden gems right under your nose.

2. PRIORITIZE LOYAL CUSTOMERS

Even though customers may not be buying, you still have relationships to maintain out there. Focus on your loyal following and take time to personalize their customer experience more deeply.  Now’s the time to create a personalized email campaign to deepen bonds. Keep them informed about any updates, new products or services, or special offers. Incentive them to refer more customers your way. Consider making the most of your website’s existing traffic with conversion rate optimization. That could be time and money better spent than putting dollars toward driving website visits when the timing is wrong.

As a footnote, economic downturns can pose opportunities to capture new market share as those in the marketplace have more time to shop around.  When purchasing audiences get out of their routines, you have a potential switchable moment to capitalize on while others have throttled back their advertising activity. As a footnote, economic downturns can pose opportunities to capture new market share as those in the marketplace have more time to shop around.  Consider trying SEO conquest marketing by purchasing keywords from your competitors.

3. PRODUCE CONNECTIVE CONTENT

The marketplace is evolving faster than ever, but content is still the reigning king of marketing. One reason is content marketing costs less and generates more leads than traditional marketing. Studies show that 70% of customers want to learn about a brand through content, not paid advertisements. Therefore, a slow period for business is an ideal time to generate or repurpose content for every stage of your sales funnel, gently guiding your audience through their customer journey. Connective content and a content strategy should be rooted in your audience's needs and journeys. Performance data will be vital to understand what your audience is engaging with and where needs are being met along the journey to optimize your content strategy and overall connectedness.

The bottom line? Periodic low demand is something you can plan on, literally.  Approach these times by thinking like the sun and casting some light on customer behaviors, preferences and issues. And bring a little added warmth to your existing customer relationships to help ensure they remain loyal when business picks back up.