Down Side Up

If you stay up on current events and interact with other business owners on the street, you have heard about people losing business because “the economy is down”. You may have also noticed a few companies who are not only surviving but thriving. Their business is “up”. How do they do it?

Keeping current clients happy and finding new customers may seem impossible in our current economic environment, where it’s survival of the fittest. Business owners who have formed bad habits and cut corners along the way are finding themselves with an ever-shrinking list of customers.

Businesses who are surviving and maybe even thriving in the down economy have figured out how to grow their business by avoiding the most detrimental errors in business promotion. Here are some of the ways they have succeeded where others have failed.

Focus on what you have, rather than what is missing. In a recession, it is easy to focus on what is being lost—money, business, jobs, homes. But this behavior erodes confidence and causes people to enter a scarcity mentality. Instead, it is critical to focus on the opportunities that do exist. In a down market, focus needs to shift away from the volume of opportunities and move to the depth or quality of them. Resist the tendency to put more prospects into the sales pipeline. Rather, focus on delivering a higher level of satisfaction to your current customer base, up-selling and referral generation.

Be innovative. Break free from old habits that no longer serve you. Most of us are creatures of habit, often reluctant to change or way of doing business in response to fluctuating economic conditions. But the tougher the market place, the more innovative our business promotion efforts need to become. You may need to prospect differently, network more aggressively, and create more added value for your current customers. Today’s buyers have less to spend and are being pitched by more salespeople than ever. However, most buyers are still not going to make decisions solely on price because they are looking for the most value. Be prepared to deliver exceptional customer service, speedy response time, added value incentives or rewards, and a deep network to connect them with potential customers.

Maintain pricing integrity. Don’t make the assumption that every buyer is now a price buyer. Lowering prices implies you have inflated prices in the past. This permanently diminishes the value of your product or service in the eyes of your customer. How are you going to deliver added value with lowered margins?

Make your existing customers your top priority. A common knee-jerk reaction to shrinking revenues is to blitz the marketplace for new business. This puts you right in the middle of the herd that is rushing over a cliff. Rather than joining your soon-to-be-nonexistent competitors in their panic, spend your time and money on current customers. Make a plan to contact each one of them. Find out how the economy is impacting them and learn how your company might be able to help. Ask for referrals. If you have treated your customers right, and know and understand your value to them, they will be eager to help you. And remember, referrals deliver results without any hard costs.

Stay active in your community. Did you know that volunteerism drops during a recession? This is hard to understand, but easy to take advantage of. When you take a position of leadership in your community or volunteer to help a non-profit organization, you are making a difference while demonstrating your authenticity and work ethic to other community leaders. This is so obviously a win-win situation. Volunteer as often as you can, and encourage your employees to do the same.

Never whine or make excuses. One of the most detrimental mistakes companies make during a recession is allowing the down economy to become an excuse for poor performance. This is especially damaging when you are making excuses to your sales team and/or support staff. Instead of whining and demanding, shift your focus from the external situation of the economy to things you can control. Have sales goals and a solid action plan to achieve those goals. Celebrate the little wins along the way to keep your team excited and engaged. Next, make sure you have the tools, support structure and accountability needed to be successful. Most importantly, track and measure actions to see what is working and not working so that you can make shifts necessary to improve the overall results that are generated.

The moral to this story is one you have heard countless times before, but that makes it no less potent: Focus on the positive. Concern yourself only with what you can control. Give to others. Show gratitude to all who have helped you. Never quit.