Rain-Making in the Desert

Some business owners tend to sit on their hands during an economic downturn - waiting for the market to rebound before they make a move or spend a dime. But although it may seem counter-intuitive, recessions are a great time to get back to the basics of business development and marketing.

As tough as recessions can be on your pocketbook, they do free up space to think and plan - two things that most companies don't do enough of!

If you want to use a short-term lull to drive long-term success, what should you be focusing on?

Relationships. In a down economy it's more important than ever to take care of the customers you have, reconnect with customers you've lost and encourage referrals. By taking every opportunity to interact with people you already know, you can begin to fully understand what needs are in the marketplace and how you can fill them. And while you obviously want to get more money from your connections and leverage their Rolodex, you also need to focus on providing real value and gathering crucial information that will help you set your business up to succeed.

Networking, customer satisfaction calls, face-to-face meetings and hosting events are just a few ways to show your customers, suppliers, vendors and partners that you appreciate them and are concerned about providing thoughtful, personalized service.

Education. It can be hard to reconcile yourself to giving anything away for free, but freebies today drive sales tomorrow. Recessionary economies make consumers cautious, so you have to prove yourself before they will buy from you. Doling out valuable tidbits of information, offering instruction for do-it-yourselfers and having some products or services available for a free trial can create the confidence to earn real purchases.

Now is the time to do whatever it takes to build rapport and trust. Host seminars, offer low-cost classes to share knowledge with the public, allow people to sample your services for free and talk with anyone who will listen about your area of expertise. People do pay attention to companies that demonstrate that they care! Now is not the time to try and monetize every aspect of your business, rather you should be educating consumers on why they should buy from you both now and when their financial picture improves.

Education applies to your internal systems as well. Brief periods of inactivity are great times to mentor your staff, conduct training, implement better processes and upgrade equipment. That way when business picks up again - you're ready!

Market Strategically. During times of plenty marketing efforts can get sloppy. You buy any ad that a salesperson approaches you about... you send out mailers, emails and newsletters willy-nilly... budgets fly out of control as you sponsor events, join professional organizations, and take everyone you know out for lunch.

Economic downturns force companies to make responsible choices about how to spend their precious business development dollars. Go back to your strategic plan and remember who you serve and why. How can you connect with small target audiences on a personal level - and cheaply? Trim the fat from the marketing budget and drop any activities that don't get stellar results.

Most of all, don't stop marketing completely or trust your gut on where to put your marketing dollars. Tracking is the best way to demonstrate how marketing efforts pay off. In tough times many owners and managers think that the first thing to do is cut back on marketing expenses. However, providing numeric results and reporting on success stories are easy ways to underscore the importance of marketing/ business development and demonstrate ROI for the activities you keep.

Survival Key #1: Become a Problem Solver

Obviously, the global economy is down and the U.S. is in a recession... but how is your economy? Just because a lot of your competitors, business partners and friends are struggling doesn't mean you have to.

Win at the survival game by preparing rather than panicking... by channeling your energy outward rather than inward. The first key to jolting your business out of panic-mode is to switch your focus back to the customer.

Many companies forget at times that they exist solely to solve problems for people. And although a temporary loss of momentum during an economic upswing may not do much damage - it's a company killer during a recession.

Avoid the trap by remembering your crucial role as a problem solver, and taking the time to slow down and look at each and every transaction from the customer's point of view. Before you try to make another sale or call on the next customer, look at the real world, so you can develop real ideas and relevant answers for both consumers and for yourself.

Analyze your reality, and compare it to their reality. Before you run one more ad, visit one more potential distributor or move any farther in creating a new product, you have to know what the total situation is. In order to understand consumers, relate to them, help them, serve them and, ultimately, sell them, you have to get inside their head. Of course your long-term goal is selling, but in these times, "closing deals” may be the last item on a long list.

Don’t make the fatal mistake of just defining your own situation and obsessing about your own problems. You also have to define your customer’s situation, the market situation and your company’s differentiators so that your messaging speaks to people in a language they understand and connects with their needs on a deep level. People are cash-strapped and sick of being pitched by desperate sales people - don't become one of them!

If you are selling a big-ticket item and sales are sluggish, think about the reason why. Maybe such a huge investment is daunting to potential customers even though they need and want what you are selling? Maybe installation is a barrier? Maybe concerns about reliability or repairs is creating resistance? Can you offer a better guarantee or free installation to overcome those buying obstacles.

If you are having difficulty collecting on invoices and your cash flow is is causing problems, ask yourself why people aren't paying - or talking. Do customers simply not have the cash? Are they stockpiling out of concern over the future? Your mission is simply solving the problem for them. Can you approach customers and offer payment plans to ease their cash crunch and still keep money flowing in? Can you create a positive incentive to pay on time such as a 5% discount for paying within 14 days?

Such simple strategies... and so obvious once the transactions are examined from the customer's perspective.

I challenge you to share your ideas and thoughts with your customers, so they can become aware of how serious you are about helping them and building your business in a positive way. Doing this will not only demonstrate your professionalism, but will also give your customer's peace of mind - and perhaps a little peace of mind will rub off on you as well.

Problem solving and true consumer understanding will not only set you apart from your competitors (who at this very moment are panicking and merely trying to sell, sell, sell!), but they will also keep your customer relationships strong through difficult times. When times become better - and they always do - you will have earned the loyalty you deserve by being a champion for solutions your customers care about and demonstrating your advocacy for their best interests.