Consumer Confidence falls to its lowest point in 45 years. What this means for manufacturing & distributor sales and marketing teams

So I'm not running around yelling that ”the sky is falling”.

But the University of Michigan’s survey has been used as a data point for consumer buying intentions and expectations for inflation, stock prices and interest rates since 1946.

If you are a manufacturing or distributor, your marketing and sales teams need to take notice and adjust.

Here’s why.
One of the top questions that your sales and marketing should already be answering is "Why should I buy from you?"

With the index falling 30% since December 2024, the question today is:
Why should I buy from you, 𝐍𝐎𝐖?

To answer this question, you need to have a deep understanding of your prospects' problems and how you can help them navigate the current economic chaos.

For example (and I am sure there are others),
➡️ Can you help them manage inventory holding cost and reduce lead times with vendor managed inventory?
➡️ Do you source from multiple countries and from within the US to stabilize their input costs?
➡️ Do you have sufficient pre-tariff inventory to help them with spot buys?

The consumer confidence index is a forward looking indicator and your prospects are struggling to figure out how to prepare for potentially lower sales, revenue and profit.

The good news is that your sales team knows about these problems and is the best source to answer how your company solves their problems.

Marketing needs to get with sales and create content and messaging to get the word out and convince your reluctant B2B prospect…

𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐧𝐨𝐰.