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Key Takeaways Scaling during downturns lowers costs, unlocks talent, and captures market share
Companies that keep investing while others cut back gain long-term advantages
Crises shift customers and investors toward bold, efficient and growth-focused businesses
Growth investors invested $425 billion into over 24,000 private companies, and that’s 30% more compared to the year before. But there’s a point: nearly 60% of that amount of money went to a group of 629 companies. While most of the market is panic-cutting budgets and freezing their hiring, a few proactive founders gain the benefit of picking up market share. Scaling in a downturn is simply about taking the opportunities your competitors are too afraid to get. In this article, I will share 5 reasons to scale while competitors are stuck in fear of the crisis.
Customer acquisition cost drops
When the economy gets tight, the first thing most companies do is cut marketing costs. This leaves the door wide open for you. If you keep going while your competitors go quiet, your brand gets noticed way more for a lot less money.
In 2020, Procter & Gamble doubled down on marketing while its competitors cut back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They kept their brands impossible to miss while their target audiences were stuck home and online. As a result, P&G sales saw a 5% increase over the previous year, even when everyone around had a massive downfall. More recently, Prada Group did the same. Despite a luxury slump in 2024, they refused to cut marketing to protect short-term margins. They saw a 4% sales bump while other fashion houses were sliding.
View lower acquisition costs as a green light to push harder, not an excuse to save. If your ads are bringing in more than they cost, keep scaling them up. Focus on the channels that are working right now and work on smoothing the customer experience.
The rise of talents
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