Riding Out the Recession - is your Business Prepared To Survive?
by
Bill Kaye
Bill Kaye
Will you be ready when the recession ends?
This recession will end. They always have. But the economy is cyclical. As bad as the news seems today, we suffered through recessions in 2001, 1990, 1980 and 1973. But I would wager that unless you were in business in 1973, you don't remember a recession, or any huge layoffs. All you may remember is that gas prices were through the roof, approaching $1.00 a gallon!
Just as boom times, bull markets and free-spending will eventually peak and then start to slow down, every economic crisis will eventually turn back around toward prosperity. And Happy Days Will Be Here Again.
But what is your company doing until then? Are you waiting it out, cutting staff, hours and services? Have you scaled back on your expenditures, looking for cheaper vendors for your needed supplies?
And make sure you slash your marketing plan, because no one is buying anyway.
Good for you. Your bottom line appreciates the staunching of red ink.
But still, some formerly solid companies will fail before the worst is over. It happens even in flush times. Bad management can kill any company, even when the economy is sailing along at full speed.
So if you're hunkering down, trying to keep your employees even while you're asking them to sacrifice by reducing their weekly hours, asking them to take mandatory unpaid time, and forgo raises or bonuses (while you're doing the same, I would hope), consider what you should be doing to prepare for the good times that are surely coming.
Consider two hikers, lost in the woods, separated from one another and the outside world. The first hiker finds a cave and settles in, waiting to be found. The second hiker tries more proactive steps: he screams until his voice wears out, starts a signal fire, flashes mirrors, arranges rocks, anything he can, to make his location visible to would-be rescuers.
Which one will be found first? Which one will survive?
Simply put, the business which continues to make its name known will have a better chance of surviving. And the first company, just like the hiker holed up in a cave, will be given up on by its customers, who'll assume it's gone out of business.
So while your competitors are slashing advertising budgets and marketing plans and laying off those who wrote them, you can start now to get a head start on the coming prosperity. Ramp up that advertising. Make everyone aware that you're still out there, alive and kicking, and willing to do business.
An easy way, if you've cut your marketing staff, is to consider hiring a professional guide, a freelance writer, who can help your rescuers find you, before it's too late.
You'll have the added benefit of a buyer's market. Television, radio, and print are also struggling, with more available time and ad space. They need you, so you'll find rates and placements that are likely the best you've seen in a long time. You'll also have the advantage of fewer competitors.
The market is yours for the taking, and a good solid "yes, we're still here" campaign means that your customers will find you first, giving you a quick jump when the next boom begins.
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