Article by: Mike York, COO

When a downturn hits, companies immediately say they’re going to “get focused.”

What they usually mean is:

• freeze things
• cancel things
• stare at spreadsheets like they might be ready to confess something
• and cut things that feel suspiciously nonessential

This is also the moment someone inevitably asks: “Do we really need research right now?”

Yes. Now more than ever. And not because things are calm, but because they aren’t.

Downturns Don’t Create Problems. They Reveal Which Assumptions Were Fake.

In good times, strategy can survive on:

• averages
• benchmarks
• and “industry best practices”

In downturns, those fall apart immediately. Generic data and black box research tell you what’s happening in general. Custom research tells you what’s happening to you.

And during a downturn, “in general” is how companies confidently make the wrong cuts or costly missteps.

Custom Research Stops You From Cutting the Load-Bearing Stuff

Every downturn comes with a list of “nice-to-haves.”

Unfortunately, some of those are quietly:

• driving retention
• protecting margins
• or preventing churn

Custom research answers the unglamorous but critical question: “If we cut this, what actually breaks?”

Not:

• what feels expensive
• what’s loud internally
• or what leadership personally dislikes

Guessing here is how companies save money on paper and lose it in reality.

Consumers Don’t Just Spend Less in a Downturn, They Reprioritize

This is where generic data fails hardest.

Benchmarks will tell you: “Consumers are pulling back.”

Custom research tells you:

• what they’re still willing to spend on
• what they’ll defend emotionally
• what they’ll abandon over the smallest inconvenience

Downturn behavior isn’t random. It’s hyper-selective.

And you only see that when the research is designed around your category, your customers, and your trade-offs.

Custom Research Prevents Boardroom Fan Fiction

Downturns turn leadership meetings into a creative writing workshop.

Suddenly:

• everyone has a theory
• everyone has a story
• and someone is very confident about something no one has validated

Custom research firms, like SMARI, exists to politely ruin those moments.

It says:

“Actually, customers don’t care about that.” “Yes, this feels risky internally, but it’s invisible externally.” “No, that’s not why they’re leaving.”

This is not pessimism. This is cost containment through reality.

It Forces the Right Conversations (Instead of Emotional Ones)

In a downturn, decisions get personal fast. Cuts feel like judgment. Changes feel like blame. Everyone has a favorite thing they want to protect.

Custom research reframes the discussion around:

• trade-offs
• consequences
• and probabilities

Which is much healthier than: “I just feel like this is the wrong move.”

Nothing burns cash faster than emotionally negotiated austerity.

Custom Research Tells You What Not to Fix

This is one of SMARI’s quiet superpowers. Downturns make companies want to fix everything.

Custom research often reveals:

• what customers barely notice
• what feels broken internally but works fine externally
• what is absolutely not the reason performance is slipping

Fixing the wrong thing during a downturn isn’t neutral. It’s expensive.

Our research saves money by saying, “Leave this alone.”

It Helps You Avoid Panic Moves You Can’t Undo

Downturns tempt companies to:

• slash prices
• over-discount
• rebrand out of fear
• chase short-term behavior that won’t last

Custom research helps answer:

• “Is this a real shift or a temporary reaction?”
• “What rebounds naturally?”
• “What damage would be hard to reverse?”

Not everything needs action. Some things need restraint.

Why This Only Works With Custom Research

Dashboards tell you what moved. Benchmarks tell you how you compare. Custom research tells you why it matters and what to do about it.

During a downturn, insight that isn’t decision-specific is just noise.

Custom research is designed to:

• pressure-test assumptions
• surface uncomfortable truths early
• and help leadership make fewer expensive mistakes under stress

Which is precisely when you need it most.

The Last Word

Custom market research during a downturn isn’t about optimism.

It’s about:

• cutting the right things
• protecting what actually works
• and avoiding panic decisions you’ll regret in 12 months

It won’t make the economy better. But it will stop you from making it worse for yourself.

That’s the kind of ROI downturns respect.

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SMARI is an award-winning Indiana-based market research consultancy that was founded in 1983 with the idea of guiding change and inspiring confidence. We are proud to work with SMEs as well as a variety of Fortune 500 brands. We are powered by our core values: integrity, community, perseverance, trust, passion, curiosity, and innovation. SMARI’s expertise encompasses complete project scopes, including instrument design, sampling & fielding services, reporting & analysis in the Healthcare, CPG, Retail, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, and Financial Services industries, among others. Much has changed in our 40+ years, but our tagline and overarching mission remain the same—to guide change and inspire confidence. Start a conversation with us at www.SMARI.com.