As we near the end of another year, many companies have already started planning for 2024. However, planning your upcoming marketing activities can be stressful when you think about all the potential pitfalls and changes we may see in the months to come. If you’re one of the many companies concerned about the economy, AI, greenwashing, or data regulations, continue reading as we discuss and quell your fears about the state of marketing in 2024.

Fear #1: The slowing economy will finally result in suppressed consumer spending.

We’ve been hearing about a looming economic crash and declining consumer spending for years now. Each new year seems to beg the question “are we going to go into a recession?” and each year the answer gets murkier. Some businesses have expressed fear that a steep decline in consumer spending and resulting drops in revenue will finally catch up to them in 2024.

While the US economy will likely continue its gradual slowdown in 2024, credit rating agency Moody’s still expects the overall GDP to grow by about 1%, an increase over predictions from earlier in the year. Experts’ outlook on consumer spending remains mixed, with some sticking to predictions that spending must eventually slow down due to rising interest rates. Others, including Goldman Sachs economists, cite low unemployment as reason to believe that spending will hold steady in 2024. As of September 2023, Goldman Sachs placed the likelihood of a US recession occurring in the next 12 months at 15 percent.

Still, there are strategic steps businesses can take to prepare for potential declines in consumer spending and revenue. Instead of cutting overall spend on marketing, cut back on areas that have been underperforming or ineffective, and reinvest those funds into your tried-and-true methods. Marketing platforms and messages that continue to get results and drive sales are more crucial than ever when spending is down, and your budget should be focused squarely on those avenues. This is also a strategic time to double down on retargeting campaigns to recapture previous customers, rather than spending more money in hopes of landing new ones. According to Forbes, the adage that it costs five times more to acquire a new customer is still true.

Fear #2: AI still feels risky, but if we don’t start using it, we’ll be left behind.

Artificial intelligence tools may have taken over the news cycle in 2023, but if your business hasn’t started implementing these services yet, you shouldn’t feel like you’re already behind. According to a Forbes survey, only 35 percent of businesses are currently using AI-powered tools. In most cases, AI is being used to enhance or simplify current operations, rather than replace entire job functions. This approach is backed by experts at Gartner, who suggest businesses “proceed, but don’t over-pivot” with their AI integrations.

Naturally, some of the hesitation to adopt AI into daily use comes from concerns about safety and ethics. A report from the Harvard Business Review outlines several ways companies can begin utilizing AI responsibly, based on framework from national institutions as well as legal requirements. The report suggests allowing employees to opt in to engage with AI tools, ensuring that any AI uses are aligned with company goals, providing ongoing training, and developing protocols to maintain privacy and secure data sharing.

For marketing-specific AI uses, it’s also recommended to utilize the tools to gather information and generate ideas, rather than to create images or text to pass off as your own original work. Using AI strategically and sparingly, such as to quickly gather theme ideas for a new campaign or to shorten an existing piece of copy, can help your team be more effective in their marketing efforts.

Fear #3: We need to educate consumers on our sustainability efforts, but we could come off as “greenwashing.”

Sustainability has become one of consumers’ top values they consider when selecting brands and products. Consumers’ growing concern over the environment presents an opportunity for companies to win customers if they can effectively promote their sustainability efforts. However, this strategy is a double-edged sword. Brands that inaccurately tout or exaggerate their environmental efforts can quickly get labeled as “greenwashers.”

By definition, greenwashing refers to misleading claims that lead consumers to believe a product is more sustainable than it really is. For consumers, greenwashing often feels like cheating, as brands that declare themselves “sustainable” tend to charge more for the same products. The most infamous forms of greenwashing are intentional – think of brands using terms like “all-natural” or “eco-friendly” in their packaging without any information to back their claims. However, companies are also at risk of unintentional greenwashing, particularly if their sustainability efforts aren’t as effective as they believed them to be.

To avoid unintentional greenwashing, be as specific as possible when talking about your brand’s environmental activities. If you’re promoting reduced carbon emissions, cite your exact measurements and the data you referenced in your calculations. If you claim your products to be made of 100% recycled materials, include information on your product packaging or website about your exact sources for those materials. In addition, it can be surprisingly helpful to acknowledge the areas where your brand still has room to improve its sustainability practices, as a way of getting ahead of potential criticism from consumers.

Fear #4: Data regulations will prevent us from creating effective campaigns.

The past several years have seen a revolving door of changes related to data usage. Earlier this year, Apple rolled out significant updates that restricted marketers’ access to their users’ data. In 2024, Google will also finally phase out third-party cookies, which previously allowed brands to provide searchers with highly targeted ad messages. Without these trackable metrics, many brands are left worrying about how they will continue to create effective digital marketing campaigns.

One solution that has earned a lot of attention in the media is blockchain. Blockchain, which includes nonfungible tokens (or NFTs), was originally developed with user privacy in mind, while also allowing consumers to share their interests or priorities through the NFTs they choose to publicly display. However, if getting involved in blockchain feels overwhelming for your brand, you should also note that the popularity of NFTs has dropped significantly in the last year, making it a less-viable alternative. According to recent reports, NFT sales have dropped by nearly 50 percent since January 2023.

While there is no clear successor to third-party cookies yet, there are several options marketers can begin experimenting with before Google officially turns off cookies later next year. Some will likely choose to use Privacy Sandbox, Google’s new data collection platform that aims to sort user data into anonymized interest groups. Brands can also choose to rely on first-party data through methods like reward programs, contest entries, and their own website data. Ultimately, the best strategy for data usage in the future will likely be using a variety of sources. The good news: targeted and personalized ads are such a powerful tool for brands that it will be in tech companies’ best interest to help them find techniques that continue to drive results and keep them advertising on their site for years to come.