TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT

How business leaders

confidently navigate
times of crisis
Current research and strategies for thriving
in an economic downturn

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 1

OVE R VI EW

Introduction
It may feel too soon to talk about the next global crisis, but
companies are bracing for impact. From inflation and
supply chain issues, to political and social unrest in the U.S.
and abroad, the probability of an economic downturn has
gotten real.

Business leaders are taking cues from pandemic learnings

and preparing their companies to act quickly. The ability to
pivot, establish a strategic plan, and motivate the workforce
are high priorities for companies moving forward.

We took a pulse on business leaders’ —including managers,

directors, and VP/C-suite executives— priorities as they
considered the probability of an economic crisis. In a July
study by Momentive* using SurveyMonkey Enterprise,
we asked 500 U.S. business leaders about their concerns,
challenges and strategies for the upcoming year. Read on to
find out what we learned.

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 2

OVE R VI EW

Key findings
• Over a quarter of leaders predicted that their
companies would respond with a lack of
action, overreaction, or chaos in the event of
an economic downturn

• 62% of leaders will prioritize optimizing

existing products and services during a
downturn vs. launching something new

• 65% of business leaders will prioritize gathering

fresh insights on their market and customers
during an economic downturn

• Almost half of business leaders say that access

to in-the-moment feedback is the most
important thing they can provide to their
teams during a crisis

• 57% of insights and marketing VPs/C-suite

believe that reducing research during a crisis is
very or extremely risky

• Almost half of business leaders say they

conduct MORE research during a time of crisis

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 3

OVE R VI EW
What’s keeping business
leaders up at night?
Over two-thirds of business leaders said
an economic downturn would have
the biggest negative impact on their
company, the #1 response over a global
pandemic, product recall or corporate
scandal. VP and C-suite executives
were even more concerned, with 78%
ranking an economic downturn as the
most damaging event.
Leaders are split in their confidence that
their company will adapt & thrive during
times of disruption
44% Not or only somewhat
confident
Leaders are split in their confidence in
their company’s ability to adapt and
thrive in a crisis, with 44% stating they
are only somewhat or not confident,
and 55% saying they are very confident.
Middle management was less
optimistic than executives—only 49%
of directors are confident, compared to
64% of VP+.
56% Very or extremely
confident
TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 4
OVE R VI EW

The main concern? Giving teams what

they need to meet their goals. That
includes clear priorities, access to current
feedback, and the tools and solutions that
provide teams the autonomy to make
decisions and take action.
48%
say access to current feedback
is the most important thing
they can provide teams

Top priorities to provide teams during

a crisis
A clear strategy & set of priorities 62%

Access to current feedback 48%

Expertise to act quickly 45%

Decision-making tools & systems 42%

Data & insights to take action 38%

Well-integrated systems 30%

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 5

OVE R VI EW

How would your company fare?

If an economic downturn were to hit, over a All of these steps rely on the same thing:
quarter of business leaders predicted there collecting current, accurate data to fuel
would be a lack of action, overreaction, or decisions. When asked what their company

43%
chaos at their company. The remaining 72% would likely do to adapt during a time of
state they will be able to quickly execute on crisis, gathering insights was high on
a clear strategy that aligns teams across the list.
the company.

Most leaders plan to lean in on existing

strengths and internal abilities. Just over
half, or 52%, believe an established brand
reputation gives them confidence to
survive, while 48% said it was a strong
of business leaders prioritized
customer experience. Last on the list? gathering insights to understand
Reliance on a team of outside experts,
at 13%. how their industry will shift
Leaders that have confidence in their
company’s ability to survive are more
inclined to use data-driven decisions as a
strategic advantage.

Confident leaders rank the

importance of using research
to drive strategies higher
than their less-confident
counterparts

Agility might be the most common

element of surviving an economic
turndown. Confident leaders put more
emphasis on their ability to make fast
decisions, align behind strategies, execute
quickly, and give teams clear direction.

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 6

OVE R VI EW

Playbook for surviving

1
an economic crisis

2
Invest in what’s working

3
Empower teams with
clear strategies

4
Plan to pivot

Tap into your strengths

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 7

1
PL AYB OOK FOR SU R VIVIN G A N ECON OMIC CR IS IS

Invest in what’s working

The majority of business leaders agree that an economic downturn may not be the
best time to go out on a limb with unproven initiatives. Instead, the top priorities focus
on optimizing existing initiatives rather than launching new, untested strategies.

Top priorities during an economic downturn

Gather fresh insights on 65% 35% Use “what’s worked

market & customers before” findings

Optimize exising 62% 38% Innnovate/launch new

products & services products & services

Retain & grow existing

66% 34% Acquire new customers
customers

Optimize existing 51% 49% Launch new campaigns

campaigns

75% 25% Cut benefits &

Invest in our workforce
employees costs

65%
of business leaders will gather
fresh insights on their market
and customers

During times of crisis, leaders were clear on

the need to collect current data rather than
rely on past success. This was an even higher
priority amongst confident leaders, who
ranked gathering insights at 69%.

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 8

2
PL AYB OOK FOR SU R VIVIN G A N ECON OMIC CR IS IS

Empower teams with

clear strategies

The keys to success start with a solid plan
but include quick execution. According
to our study, over half of executives chose
adapting to a new strategy quickly as their
top response.
52%
The second most important thing? Giving
teams access to current feedback that
identifies what’s working.

Gathering insights to
understand industry shifts of confident leaders rank giving
ranked high, with 43% of leaders teams the ability to access
rating it a priority.” current feedback as the most
important thing they can do
As far as what teams need to meet their
goals, 62% of leaders said providing teams
with a clear strategy and set of priorities was
the most important step they could take
during an economic downturn.

Top priorities during an 53% Adapt to a new strategy

quickly
economic downturn

52% Prioritize delivering a great

customer experience

43% Gather insights to

understand how our
industry will shift

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 9

3
PL AYB OOK FOR SU R VIVIN G A N ECON OMIC CR IS IS

Plan to pivot
Agility was an underlying theme in the
responses from business leaders. Changing
course, fast execution, good decision
making ranked high across the board.
In fact, 64% said an ability to pivot was the
most important leadership quality during a
crisis, the number one answer. Big picture
thinking ranked next, followed by quick
decision making. Risk taking came in last
at 22%.
Pivoting, quick decision making, and
big-picture thinking all rely on accurate
insights. When we asked leaders about the
importance of research during a crisis, the
response was overwhelming.
Eighty-five percent of leaders believe that
eliminating research during a crisis is risky.
Only 15% believe there’s no risk to reducing
research.

Business leaders weigh the risk:

eliminating research during an economic downturn

85% The downside of not acting on

insights? The outcomes are clear.
15%

85% said it would be Only 15% said it would not

somewhat, very or be very risky or not risky
extremelly risky at all

What if you didn’t have current data to make decisions during a crisis?

49% 44% 49% 42%

Putting effort into the Missed sales
Slower growth wrong things Delayed decisions opportunities

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 10

4
PL AYB OOK FOR SU R VIVIN G A N ECON OMIC CR IS IS

Tap into your strengths

Business leaders plan to lean on different
areas of their company to weather a storm.
Whether it’s a brand tracking initiative, a
workforce study, or a CSAT or NPS survey,
it’s critical to do the homework
to understand your company’s areas
of resilience.
Over half chose market & competitive
intelligence research, the top response.
Campaign development research (ad/
message testing) came in second at 43%
and buyer behavior ranked third at 31%.

We asked our marketing and insights

leaders what kind of research and
marketing programs would be the most
important during an economic downturn.

Top research initiatives during an economic downturn

Market & competitive intelligence 55%

Campaign development research 43%

Buyer behavior research 31%

Customer experience 27%

Product development research 27%

Brand health tracking 25%

Top marketing initiatives during an economic downturn

Brand awareness campaigns 53%

Organic channels 47%

Performance campaigns 39%

PR and communications 37%

Content marketing 27%

Events 22%

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 11

What’s your game plan?
Leaders may be concerned about an economic downturn, but the most confident are
also prepared.

From collecting insights to giving teams clear, strategic direction, the business
leaders that prioritize, optimize and catalyze their teams to act will be the companies
that thrive.

Learn more about how your company

can get the insights it needs to survive.
Brand Tracking

Usage & Attitudes

Consumer Segmentation

Concept Testing

Customer Experience

Industry Tracking

About Momentive

Momentive is a leader in agile experience management, delivering powerful,

purpose-built solutions that bring together the best parts of humanity and
technology to redefine AI. Momentive products, including GetFeedback,
SurveyMonkey, and its brand and market insights solutions, empower
decision-makers at 345,000 organizations worldwide to shape exceptional
experiences. More than 20 million active users rely on Momentive for market
insights, brand insights, employee experience, customer experience, and
product experience. Ultimately, the company’s vision is to raise the bar for
human experiences by amplifying individual voices.
*July 26, 2022 Momentive study conducted of 410 business leaders in the U.S. Data collected overnight. Respondents for
this survey were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the using SurveyMonkey platform
each day.

TIMES OF CRISIS BUSINESS REPORT | 12