Succeeding in a Down Economy

There's an old saying: “When times get tough the tough get going.” But what does tough mean? What does getting going mean?

Tough = Resilient

When the economy is down you need to increase your resilience – your ability to bounce back, get going and take your efforts to the next level.

The five characteristics of resilient people are:

1.  Positive: Views life as challenging and ever-changing, but filled with opportunities and has a vision of succeeding, even in tough times.
2. Focused: Stays focused on things that can be influenced. Knows but ignores what can’t be influenced.
3. Flexible: NOTHING is fixed. Continuously monitors business plan, business environment, bank account. Willing to make rapid changes to meet circumstances to insure staying power and success.
4. Organized: Has a plan. Follows the plan while staying flexible.
5. Proactive: Always planning and acting with the end in mind. Recognizes potential problems and opportunities. Takes action in advance.

Each characteristic has unique qualities. Aspects of all five are needed for succeeding in challenging times and drive “getting going.”

The first thing you need to do is take inventory of your business by doing a SWOT Analysis. Know your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. With this you can do an assessment of your business and build a strategic operating business plan based on the current financial conditions.

In times of economic downturn two plans should be put in place: one with how you are going to achieve your goals in the current financial climate and one that defines the worse case scenario to keep you in business to make it through the down turn. Having both keeps you focused, flexible and proactive.

The goal of the business plan should be:

• To win business from weak or failing competitors.
• To make stronger in roads in your market.
• To show market strength and staying power.
• To position your business to be ready for the upswing as soon as it starts. Waiting till the upswing starts may be too late.

Part of your business plan should be a detail of your operating strategies. Operating strategies for a down economy should include:

• Plan to Upgrade and monetize your web site. Your web site is the most economical vehicle for marketing your business. It has the greatest visibility to your customers and the world. Use it to:
• • Show stability.
  • Gain greater market visibility.
  • Obtain new customers.
  • Ad new revenue.
• An integrated marketing plan for your web site that includes:
• • Advertising
  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • News Releases
  • Email campaigns
• Advertising Plan – Don’t stop advertising just advertise smarter.
• • Control and monitor your advertising campaigns.
  • Advertise where you can measure results. Know the numbers. Measure your ROI. Use an ad network. Ad networks provide:
  • • Maximum exposure to your targeted market.
    • Ease of budget management.
    • Reports on ad performance so you know your ROI.
  • Online advertising continues to grow ,becoming the advertising vehicle of choice. According to IAB Interactive Advertising Bureau in the first quarter of 2008 online advertising grew 15.2% over the first quarter of 2007 to a whopping $11.5 Billion. The world uses the Internet for finding what to buy.
  • Various types of online advertising is available to support your goals and  budget:
  • • Banner ads
    • Classified Ads
    • Contextual Text Ads
    • Social Network
    • Rich Media
    • Video
    • Sponsorship
    • Email
• Pricing strategies - Don’t lower prices, add value.
• Plan for adding value.
• Taking care of your employees and current customers... Your biggest assets.
• How to go the extra mile with customer support and services.
• Research to know your customers better:
• • Know how the downturn is affecting them.
  • Know what they are buying. Buying habits may change but most will still be buying.
  • See where the bulk of your business comes from. Concentrate on that market segment.
• Plan for reducing expenses and conserving cash... Cash management.
• Diversifying and sharing expenses through Strategic Alliances.
• Contingency plan. Worse case scenario to keep the business going until the turn around occurs.

During these tough times difficult decisions have to be made. This can greatly increase your stress level.  You have to recognize this, monitor your stress and don’t over react. High stress levels lead to making bad decisions. You should also have a personal stress management plan in place.

Above all else...STAY POSITIVE!

For a “FREE” consultation and assessment of your current web site, business goals or to just ask questions Click Here.