Inflation. Recession. Job market. Gloom.
Doom.
What should be your response as a small business owner when it seems like the gloomers and doomers are predicting the worst? Should you just scale down and prepare for terrible things to befall your company?
As a “mature marketer,” I have lived through several recessions and witnessed trends and commonalities during challenging times. While I can’t give you straight-up business advice (I can refer you to a business coach!), I’ll tell you how I’ve seen others thrive through gloom and doom.
1. Evaluate your products and services. Are you offering the best value for you customers? Can you do something to provide more value? In this market, consumers will be looking to stretch their budgets and do more with less. Find ways to add value and serve each client well.
2. Look for growth opportunities. Yeah… sounds counterintuitive, right? We notice that our clients who lean into challenges generally come out ahead of their competition when things settle down. Is there a new service area you want to explore? A change in strategy to set your company up for growth in the long-term? Training that can help enhance your team’s capabilities? Now is the time to take those steps.
3. Get scrappy. Look for the opportunity to revisit your “why” and make every aspect of your business work optimally. Eliminate wasteful spending and invest energy into building your team so they can help build the business.
4. Check your mindset. As my business coach would ask, “do you have a victim mindset or victor mindset?” A victim mindset tunes into voices that feed doom and gloom. There’s a lot of blame and self-pity. Someone with a victor mindset controls what can be controlled. They stay informed but spend most of their time with others who are making a difference instead of complaining.
5. Don’t stop marketing. I’m not just saying this because I’m a marketing person. If you see marketing as another budget item that can be eliminated, consider re-vamping your marketing strategy instead of cutting back. If you see marketing as an important way potential customers learn about your business, keep it up! You need to stay in front of your customers and remind them why they should be doing business with you.
If you’re looking for ways to maximize your marketing, let’s set up a time to talk about it. You can schedule an appointment with a member of our team by visiting https://keap.app/booking/wholeheartcommunicationsllc/marketing-assessment