While the new year can be one of great success and growth, 2023 might not be the year to embrace the latest marketing tools and trends. Against the backdrop of a possible economic recession, recall that patented paternal wisdom about purchasing a car or choosing a college major: Play it safe.

Focus on the technology and people in which your organization is already invested. Leave risky purchases to your competition. The top trends of 2023 will sound familiar, and that’s OK — you can thank your dad later.

1. Embrace austerity. With many forecasting a recession, marketing departments everywhere will face budget constraints. Take stock of the last few years. Which marketing tools have worked? Which might be underutilized?

If you’ve resisted upgrading software or chasing a trend — AI-assisted search, virtual reality, etc. — keep resisting. New technologies bring the potential to reach new audiences — but maybe your best audience is the one you already have.

2. Retain employees. Attracting and retaining employees is increasingly difficult. One persistent challenge of 2022 presents a need to take action in 2023.

In your employees, you have assets within your own walls that your organization hasn’t fully leveraged. Center your team on its mission. Engage them in your corporate culture. Retaining employees can improve your bottom line, too. Customers are more than seven times as likely to buy from you when referred through employees.

3. Retain clients. One adage says that five times more money is needed to find a new customer than to win more business with an existing customer. Try to deepen those relationships and increase customer lifetime value rather than chase down new clients.

In the same spirit, use advanced data to profile your current customers, then find new ones who offer the same potential returns. Then narrow your messaging, which makes your pitch more relevant and attractive to a pool of customers you’re likely to enjoy working with.

4. Practice responsible consumerism. Studies find that people will buy from brands whose values resemble their own. Assure your clients that it’s good to buy from you. “Walk the walk,” and align your organizational values, public messaging, and private behavior.

Details like where and how a product is made matter more to consumers as awareness of the climate crisis grows. Even Black Friday is taking a hit in the face of “conscious consumerism.”

Define your values internally. Devise initiatives around those values. Act the right way in regard to your initiatives — and, if they fit into your content experience, tell people about it.

5. Quality > quantity. The tepid economic forecast means many organizations anticipate smaller 2023 advertising budgets. Quality must precede quantity.

What might that look like? Consider one marketing agency responsible for multiple brands, producing the same email campaign for each. If a user has given their email to each brand, they’re seeing the same ad on repeat. Eventually they’ll catch on, feel hammered, and unsubscribe — a customer lost due to lack of care.

For one: Embrace austerity. Take stock of the last few years. Which marketing tools have worked? Which might be underutilized?