You can’t open a newspaper or watch a news report these days, without hearing how bad the economy is.  The media’s focus is pretty-much exclusively on huge, national and multinational companies, reporting drops in profits and job cuts.

However, whilst many huge corporations really struggle right now, there are countless small businesses out there, doing really well!  Of course, their success is almost invisible, because it’s not carried in the newspapers or reported about on the news.

Marketing success in a recession

I spoke with a man yesterday morning, whose main problem at the moment, is recruiting enough good quality people to cope with the 300% increase in business he has seen since last June.

I spoke today with the owner of a recruitment business (one of the industries hit hardest by the recession), whose business is growing faster right now than ever before.  I also spoke with an accountant earlier, who has seen an amazing 50% increase in the size of his client base in the past 6 months!

All three of these businesses are clients of mine, so their marketing is brilliant! However, their success is only possible, because they are focusing on growing their businesses rather than survival. Their competitors are ‘hunkering down’ and hoping to just stay afloat, so my clients have been able to gain market share and will continue to do so!

Recession thinking

Because of the wall-to-wall negative news coverage, most small business owners right now are focusing on what they might lose.  Their thinking and strategies are all designed around avoiding loss – Rather than developing their business.

Even in a good economy, ignoring the development of a business and focusing on loss, will guarantee that a business fails!

That’s because what we focus on determines the actions we take.  Let’s look at a very simple example, which shows how a business owner’s focus will dramatically influence what he does; based on whether he focuses on survival or growth.

If Bob asks himself; “How can I avoid going broke during the recession?” He might come up with answers like:

• I could cut back on everything.
• I could work harder / longer hours.

However, if Bob asks himself; “How can I double my profits, even during a recession?”  He might come up with answers like:

• I could find a great new service to offer all my existing clients, which is also highly profitable.  Existing clients already trust me, so a high percentage will go for it.
• I could get my website professionally copy written, so we get more sales leads from all those hits we get.
• I could build an Introducer network, people who recommend me to their contacts in return for a commission. This way, unlike advertising, I only have to pay when a new client joins me AND I get an army of salespeople out there telling the world how great my business is.

I am certainly not suggesting that the current economy is a bunch of roses. It definitely isn’t!

What I am suggesting, is that we tend to get what we focus on; so why not focus on what you want – rather than what you fear?

Related posts:

1. Recession thinking
2. Marketing in a recession
3. 4 ways to grow a business