Stimmy Season, What It Means For You

The long-anticipated new round of stimulus checks have started hitting the accounts of potential customers around the country. If marketing leaders like you are going to take advantage of Christmas in March, you’re going to have to act swiftly. To summarize the obvious, those receiving stimulus checks will do one of a few things: buy essentials, buy luxury goods or services, pay off debt, or invest the funds into stocks, crypto, or NFTs. Here’s an interesting breakdown from CNBC:

So what does this mean for marketing leaders and the brands they steward? For starters, marketers need to make sure that they’re top of mind this week and next. Find an excuse to add value to your customers, run contests, and offer discounts (if those are on-brand for you). In addition to ramping up your email game this week, there’s no better time than now to tap into your SMS list and even paid channels like social ads and influencers to raise awareness. If there were ever a two-week stretch in March to channel your inner Black Friday/Cyber Monday mindset, this is it.

B2B marketing leaders have an opportunity, too. In addition to the second round of stimulus, many businesses picked up a second PPP loan despite the continued stabilization of market conditions. This presents a significant opportunity for business service and software providers to make inroads with prospective customers that otherwise may have been a year or longer away from seriously considering a purchase, especially with a wider range of expenditures eligible for forgiveness.

As I’ve said internally for awhile, we’re in a season of significant recovery and growth opportunity. Winners and losers will be made evident as this stimulus provides one last shot in the arm (see what I did there?) to the economy before the end of the pandemic and we begin to settle into the true “new normal.”

The marketing leaders that prove themselves agile enough to take advantage will reap the rewards on their P&L statements.