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"We are about to witness the deepest depression since the
1930's," reported Martin Weiss, Ph.D. for The Daily
Reckoning. Pessimistic as Weiss may seem, the facts lend
credence to his statement. Since the tragedy of September
11,more than 415,000 layoffs have been announced, initial
jobless claims jumped to 528,000, the highest level in
decades, consumer confidence has tumbled and billions of
dollars worth of business has been lost.
With new uncertainties raised by the attacks and many
economists forecasting a deep and prolonged recession,
businesses will have to do everything within their power to
brace for the coming storm and survive the bad times-
predicted by some to be bigger and more devastating than
the Great Depression of 1929. In fact a recent OECD Report
says the "Global Slump Could Last Until 2003" Use these
surefire strategies to immediately recession-proof your
business and you'll not only weather the recession, but
you'll come out on top of your competitors when the
economic tide reverses.
Diversify
In a weak economy, diversification may be your business'
best friend. The more services you can offer, the more
clients you will be able to find. For example, if you primarily
create business plans or marketing collateral for big name
clients, you could expand your services to include press
releases, sales letters, web content, or other business-
related products and services. And you can diversify even
further by repackaging your product and selling it to a
different clientele. For example, you could host a seminar or
workshop on writing business plans. Each person who
attends may not be able to pay your normal fee, but
combined not only may you earn more; you could also score
a few new clients. No matter what service you offer, with a
little innovative thinking you should be able to develop
several "new" offers. All of which will help keep you ahead
while your niche-focused competitors bite the dust.
Offer Outstanding Customer Service
Once you've started attracting customers, you'll have to
worry about retaining them, and in a stagnating economy
that may be even more difficult. You must provide not only a
high quality product, but also exceptional customer service.
When money's tight, clients expect more for their dollar. If
you want to keep their business, you must keep them
happy. Refine your customer service strategy to insure that
every step from taking the order to delivering the product is
client-focused and effective. You may want to conduct a
customer satisfaction survey or two in order to make sure
your customers' needs are being met. Also consider
making your service more valuable to clients with faster
delivery times, wider selections, or more flexible payment
terms.
Intensify Marketing
One of the biggest mistakes business owners make during
periods of economic slowdown is to cut back on marketing
and advertising, doing this could be most detrimental to
your business. Instead, you’re marketing needs to be more
aggressive and more comprehensive than ever. Start by
contacting past clients and simply touching base. Chances
are a good number of them will have projects or
assignments for which your services may be required
Offer discounts, freebies, or other extras as incentives. You
may also want to set up a referral reward program for
clients as part of your marketing efforts. You also need to re-
evaluate your current marketing methods. If you are not
seeing some increase in sales from every dollar you spend
on promotions, then you are wasting valuable revenue.
Whether you use billboard ads, direct mailings, or the
yellow pages now is the time to make sure your current
marketing is cost-effective and efficient. I am often haunted
by P.T. Barnum's stark reminder: "Without promotion,
something terrible happens - NOTHING!"
Position Yourself to be a Market Leader: Are you content to
follow the herd? Step outside of your comfort zone and dare
to lead than to follow. Set yourself apart from the
competition by developing your own USP-unique selling
position sometimes also referred to as ESA (Essential
Selling Advantage) What is your USP? It doesn't really
matter 'what' your USP is as much as it matters that you
have one. Prospective customers MUST have a good
reason to do business with you rather than your
competition. It could be your superior customer service, your
lifetime refund policy, best prices or the outstanding quality
of your products. You have absolutely no reason to worry
about the economic slowdown or competition once your
customers 'experience' you’re USP. In fact, you can use your
USP to ruthlessly eliminate your competitors.
Adopt Cutting edge Technologies
One of the best ways to stay ahead of your competitors is by
keeping up with current technology. So if you aren't familiar
with customer relation management software or even e-
mail marketing, now is the time to do so. You can put your
business online, advertise with well-placed banner ads,
send out information to potential clients via e-mail,
outsource some of your administrative duties, manage your
payroll, or establish an affiliate program all on the Internet.
Current technology can help your company run more
efficiently and more cost effectively, plus it can open access
to clients in the next city, in another state, or even enable you
to compete in the global marketplace. You'll have the
potential to contact millions of people who would otherwise
have never heard of you or your product and in a slow
economy you need all the exposure you can get.
Stay Focused
Nothing will damage your business more than business
myopia or short sightedness.. In order to stay successful,
you must always keep an eye on your long term goals and
objectives. You will hit rough spots but do not get bogged
down in the present. Do not make this mistake. Instead
keep your eyes on your target. Stay focused. Every decision,
every cutback, every improvement you make now must be
beneficial not only in the present but more importantly in the
future. Think about this before you slash prices, fire
employees, cut overhead, or lower your standards.
Seek New Ways to Improve
If you are like most people, you are content with the status
quo until something disturbs it. You should be constantly re-
evaluating not just your marketing plan, but all of your
business strategies including policies, pricing, and
employee performance. The idea is to eventually be as
efficient and effective as possible so your company runs
smoothly and profitably. Look closely at your competitors.
Talk to business leaders you respect. Read business
management books. Experiment, solicit feedback from your
workers and customers, by doing several of these things
you will accumulate a wealth of knowledge and experience
crucial to the survival of your business.
As you read this tens of thousands of businesses across
the country are headed for extinction. Use these recession-
proof strategies immediately and you are guaranteed to see
assets where others see liabilities, opportunity where
others see failure, and extra profits where others see
financial losses.
1930's," reported Martin Weiss, Ph.D. for The Daily
Reckoning. Pessimistic as Weiss may seem, the facts lend
credence to his statement. Since the tragedy of September
11,more than 415,000 layoffs have been announced, initial
jobless claims jumped to 528,000, the highest level in
decades, consumer confidence has tumbled and billions of
dollars worth of business has been lost.
With new uncertainties raised by the attacks and many
economists forecasting a deep and prolonged recession,
businesses will have to do everything within their power to
brace for the coming storm and survive the bad times-
predicted by some to be bigger and more devastating than
the Great Depression of 1929. In fact a recent OECD Report
says the "Global Slump Could Last Until 2003" Use these
surefire strategies to immediately recession-proof your
business and you'll not only weather the recession, but
you'll come out on top of your competitors when the
economic tide reverses.
Diversify
In a weak economy, diversification may be your business'
best friend. The more services you can offer, the more
clients you will be able to find. For example, if you primarily
create business plans or marketing collateral for big name
clients, you could expand your services to include press
releases, sales letters, web content, or other business-
related products and services. And you can diversify even
further by repackaging your product and selling it to a
different clientele. For example, you could host a seminar or
workshop on writing business plans. Each person who
attends may not be able to pay your normal fee, but
combined not only may you earn more; you could also score
a few new clients. No matter what service you offer, with a
little innovative thinking you should be able to develop
several "new" offers. All of which will help keep you ahead
while your niche-focused competitors bite the dust.
Offer Outstanding Customer Service
Once you've started attracting customers, you'll have to
worry about retaining them, and in a stagnating economy
that may be even more difficult. You must provide not only a
high quality product, but also exceptional customer service.
When money's tight, clients expect more for their dollar. If
you want to keep their business, you must keep them
happy. Refine your customer service strategy to insure that
every step from taking the order to delivering the product is
client-focused and effective. You may want to conduct a
customer satisfaction survey or two in order to make sure
your customers' needs are being met. Also consider
making your service more valuable to clients with faster
delivery times, wider selections, or more flexible payment
terms.
Intensify Marketing
One of the biggest mistakes business owners make during
periods of economic slowdown is to cut back on marketing
and advertising, doing this could be most detrimental to
your business. Instead, you’re marketing needs to be more
aggressive and more comprehensive than ever. Start by
contacting past clients and simply touching base. Chances
are a good number of them will have projects or
assignments for which your services may be required
Offer discounts, freebies, or other extras as incentives. You
may also want to set up a referral reward program for
clients as part of your marketing efforts. You also need to re-
evaluate your current marketing methods. If you are not
seeing some increase in sales from every dollar you spend
on promotions, then you are wasting valuable revenue.
Whether you use billboard ads, direct mailings, or the
yellow pages now is the time to make sure your current
marketing is cost-effective and efficient. I am often haunted
by P.T. Barnum's stark reminder: "Without promotion,
something terrible happens - NOTHING!"
Position Yourself to be a Market Leader: Are you content to
follow the herd? Step outside of your comfort zone and dare
to lead than to follow. Set yourself apart from the
competition by developing your own USP-unique selling
position sometimes also referred to as ESA (Essential
Selling Advantage) What is your USP? It doesn't really
matter 'what' your USP is as much as it matters that you
have one. Prospective customers MUST have a good
reason to do business with you rather than your
competition. It could be your superior customer service, your
lifetime refund policy, best prices or the outstanding quality
of your products. You have absolutely no reason to worry
about the economic slowdown or competition once your
customers 'experience' you’re USP. In fact, you can use your
USP to ruthlessly eliminate your competitors.
Adopt Cutting edge Technologies
One of the best ways to stay ahead of your competitors is by
keeping up with current technology. So if you aren't familiar
with customer relation management software or even e-
mail marketing, now is the time to do so. You can put your
business online, advertise with well-placed banner ads,
send out information to potential clients via e-mail,
outsource some of your administrative duties, manage your
payroll, or establish an affiliate program all on the Internet.
Current technology can help your company run more
efficiently and more cost effectively, plus it can open access
to clients in the next city, in another state, or even enable you
to compete in the global marketplace. You'll have the
potential to contact millions of people who would otherwise
have never heard of you or your product and in a slow
economy you need all the exposure you can get.
Stay Focused
Nothing will damage your business more than business
myopia or short sightedness.. In order to stay successful,
you must always keep an eye on your long term goals and
objectives. You will hit rough spots but do not get bogged
down in the present. Do not make this mistake. Instead
keep your eyes on your target. Stay focused. Every decision,
every cutback, every improvement you make now must be
beneficial not only in the present but more importantly in the
future. Think about this before you slash prices, fire
employees, cut overhead, or lower your standards.
Seek New Ways to Improve
If you are like most people, you are content with the status
quo until something disturbs it. You should be constantly re-
evaluating not just your marketing plan, but all of your
business strategies including policies, pricing, and
employee performance. The idea is to eventually be as
efficient and effective as possible so your company runs
smoothly and profitably. Look closely at your competitors.
Talk to business leaders you respect. Read business
management books. Experiment, solicit feedback from your
workers and customers, by doing several of these things
you will accumulate a wealth of knowledge and experience
crucial to the survival of your business.
As you read this tens of thousands of businesses across
the country are headed for extinction. Use these recession-
proof strategies immediately and you are guaranteed to see
assets where others see liabilities, opportunity where
others see failure, and extra profits where others see
financial losses.
