Entrepreneurs catering to middle- or upper-income shoppers within the pained-but-patient phase could also be tempted to maneuver down-market. This might confuse and alienate loyal prospects; it may additionally provoke stiff resistance from opponents.

Entrepreneurs that drift away from their established base might entice some new prospects within the close to time period however discover themselves in a weaker place when the recession ends. Their greatest course is to stabilize the model.

De Beers made such an funding, despite the fact that a model marketing campaign may solely soften the decline in gross sales through the 2007–08 disaster: