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Well. This is fun.
You know what happens when the snow melts in Minnesota? Everything that was buried all winter… resurfaces. All those frozen little dog-sicles 💩 you didn’t deal with in January? Yeah. They’re still there, and it ain’t pretty.
That’s what’s happening in the market right now. We’ve known about all the poo being dropped (tariffs, job reports, manufacturing numbers). It’s been…er…piling up. Well, now it’s all being revealed as the giant mass of (if you will allow me) consumer behavior poo that nerds like me have been dreading.
The latest consumer sentiment report just dropped, and Americans are now officially more pessimistic about the economy than at any point since they started tracking it in the 1970s. The seventies, people!!
All-time low. Lower than the Great Recession, lower than COVID, lower than anything on record. So if things feel weird out there, it’s not in your head. (Well, it’s not just in your head. I’m sure you’ve got some weird things in there.)
What This Looks Like for Businesses
No one is quoting economic data over dinner. (Except nerds like me…)
They’re doing something much more important. They’re hesitating. They’re picking things up…and putting them back (the impulse shopper in me screams “EGAD!”). They’re waiting a day. Then another. They’re adding things to their shopping cart and then doing nothing…for now.
Spending hasn’t disappeared. It’s just under review.
Meanwhile, Businesses Are About to Lose Their Freaking Minds
Consumer confidence drops… and businesses start acting as sweaty and uncertain as a middle schooler doing…well, just about anything.
Suddenly it’s:
- “SALE!”
- “FLASH DEAL!”
- “LIMITED TIME!”
- “WE ARE FINE EVERYTHING IS FINE!”
It gets loud and frantic out there, and customers feel that immediately.
So what’s the silver lining, you ask?
If you know me, you know I’m not a glass-half-full kind of gal. I’m a glass-overflowing, ridiculously optimistic gal, so it takes a lot to make me lose hope, and I haven’t lost it.
Customers may be hesitating, but the underlying mindset isn’t “Jinkies, Scoob, let’s burn the whole thing down and run screaming into the void!”
Consumers right now are more like “I just don’t want to screw this up. Maybe I’ll have more info next week that’ll help me decide.” The bigger the purchase, the more they’re thinking it.
That’s it. They’re wanting to save money, sure. But not every decision is based on that (I know lots of people are struggling. This is for those who aren’t at that point).
Right now, the average consumer isn’t scrambling or panicking, they’re just looking to make the choices that are the least risky.
As a personal example, we’ve been thinking about buying an RV. We haven’t totally ditched the plan; we just want to be sure that if we do spend the money, it’s the smartest choice with the least amount of risk.
This Is Where Small Businesses Either Win… or Blend In.
When people feel uncertain, they go with what feels safe, familiar, and trustworthy.
Which would be great news…if most businesses didn’t look exactly the same. Same words. Same tone. Same safe, professional, forgettable energy.
A sea of sameness does not feel safe. When there’s no obvious safe choice, customers don’t make any choice. There’s no obvious choice for our RV right now, and there’s no company out there making us feel like it’s a good decision. There’s nobody giving us guarantees, reassurances, or industry insider information.
Notice I didn’t say anything about a discount? Because it’s not about that…yet. Consumers are wary, but they’re not in that territory (yet), where it’s about the best deal.
What Smart Businesses Are Doing Instead
They’re not panicking. They’re not throwing discounts at the wall like spaghetti. They’re doing a few things differently:
They Remove Risk Instead of Slashing Prices
Discounts don’t build confidence as much as clarity does right now. Implementing things like:
- Guarantees
- Clear next steps
- “No surprises” energy
- Information they can’t find on their own
That’s what people are seeking right now.
For my (hopefully not yet annoying) RV example, these are the types of reassurances that would move the needle for us:
- “This model is the best leap in quality I’ve seen in a decade, so it’s not going to depreciate as quickly.”
- “Prices aren’t going down anytime soon, because of [insert RV insider info here], but if they do, we’ll honor it for 90 days.”
- “We’ve doubled our no-questions-asked return policy from 30 days to 60.”
They Stand Out & Build Trust by Saying the Stuff Everyone Else Avoids
This is not the moment for polished nonsense. It’s the time for fully transparent.
This is the moment for:
- “Here’s where this might not be for you.”
- “Here’s what people are usually worried about.”
- “Here’s exactly how this would look, and here’s why it might make sense for you.”
Honesty cuts through hesitation.
They Show Proof Like It’s Their Job
Because it is. No cringe-worthy staged testimonials or stock photos. Real moments, real results, real humans who made a decision and came out the other side unscathed.
They Get Narrower (Not Broader)
This is when many small businesses panic and try to be everything to everyone. “Hey! Our pizza shop now sells tires!” (Although if you missed my podcast episode on the taxidermy and cheese store, give it a listen).
Double down on your Exact Right Customer.
I spoke with an aspiring speaker yesterday who is an A.I. expert. The problem is that almost every speaker I know is also claiming to be an A.I. expert, so it’s a really crowded field of A.I. generalists. I told him about a speaker friend of mine who is an A.I. expert specializing in helping home services companies like HVAC, flooring, roofing and the like. She’s getting referred like crazy within those industries because she knows those industries well, and speaks their language. Everybody knows an A.I. expert these days, but it’s rare to find one who knows a specific industry so well.
They Act Like a Guide with Empathy
No one wants to be sold right now. They want help making a smart call. Less salesy energy (finger guns are appropriate here) and more listening. More “I get it, so here’s what I’d tell my own mother to do.”
The real risk right now isn’t just the economy. It’s blending in when people are actively trying to avoid risk.
Final Thought
The real risk right now isn’t just the economy. It’s blending in when people are actively trying to avoid risk. It’s thinking a sale will solve everything, when it’s deeper psychologically than that.
At a time when consumer behavior is low, trust and transparency are more important than ever. How can you shift your sales and marketing efforts to really let customers know you get what’s keeping them from moving forward?
