Last month, I interviewed some business owners, who not only survived the last recession but actually grew their businesses; whilst those around them saw their businesses shrink or go broke.
I wanted to know what their secret was, so I could share it with you!
It became apparent very quickly that there was a single, common thread, which was shared by each of the successful businesspeople from the last recession.
Here’s what they told me
The successful businesspeople continued to invest in the key areas of their business, whilst their competitors stopped investing in those same, key areas!
Marketing lessons from past recessions
During the last recession, many of the businesses that went backwards or went broke, decided to invest as little as possible in anything. They chose to hunker-down and wait for the recession to finish. As a result, they cut back on things like service contracts for their cars, office equipment etc. They also stopped most or all of their marketing.
Even in a good economy, a business with creaking infrastructure and no marketing is really going to struggle. In a recession, that approach is going to make it almost impossible to survive!
Recession marketing
During the recession, your prospective clients / customers are looking for the best value for money possible. This requires super-effective marketing, as you will need YOUR message to stand out and then convince people, more powerfully than your competitors, that YOURS is the best value for their money!
Your existing clients / customers will be hurting financially too. They will be looking for better deals and for ways to reduce their outgoings. You need to make sure they don’t go to a competitor or simply drop your service, thinking it will save them money.
This is clearly not the time to forget about your marketing.
Marketing opportunities
I believe 2009 will present some amazing opportunities. The months ahead will be a time of great change and those with the vision and courage to adapt to these changes, will get the rewards.
Use the challenges of the year ahead to position yourself in your marketplace as a provider of answers. During times of flux, people want answers and we are attracted to those who we believe have the answers we need.
Listen to what your marketplace is saying to you. Keep in regular dialogue with your clients / customers and also your prospective clients / customers.
Find ways to match the benefits of your products or services to their changing needs and ensure that you and your business are an essential resource for them!
Focus on services that cut your customers’ costs or increase their revenues. That’s all they’re going to pay you for in a down economy.
All my marketing is based on increasing profits for my prospects and customers. That’s the bottom line (so to speak).
Jim, you def have a gift for encouragement and positive thinking! Our company has had to transition and become leaner and more efficient. We write custom software applications for small to mid size companies, and we feel that the current situation is actually a great opportunity to strengthen our niche. These companies need to save money, and for a very reasonable investment we can help them. We have had to streamline and become more focused by eliminating some of the other services we used to offer, such as on site support services. Now all we do is write custom software, and of course support it. Keep up the good words!
There’s an article which agrees with you in December 2008 Harvard Business Review: “Protect Strategic Expenditures”, by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton
Other advice in the same issue includes keeping your current governance structure, using downtime to develop skills, helping employees manage stress (not giving it to them) and focusing on emerging customers.
Dave
Jim I agree with what you have said about innovative marketing. However,at some point one must be realistic, and determine if during this economy ones business will have a ROI. In my home furnishing store, I realized after, cutting overhead to a minimum and downsizing my space to 5,800 sf, that I would have to close my store after 32 years. Yes it was painful. But life goes on, and you must find other ways to be a success in life.
Jim,
This is a great post, and it seems like everyone here agrees with you. My question is, how do you get others to by into this? I’m involved in a local art gallery where my partners only see the dollars they are spending, not the revenue they are losing. Any ideas to get them to realize the value of an investment?
Sorry for the misspelling. “Buy” into this.
Excellent post. Now’s not the time to slash your marketing budget. In fact, you should increase it if you can in areas where you can measure your results and account for every precious penny spent. As for hesistant clients, show the success you’ve had with past direct response marketing efforts. That might help you win them over.