Optimism
What does it really mean? Not what’s going to happen thru this recession, but how are you going to fare? Optimism thru this recession means thinking that you are not only going to make it thru this recession, but come out stronger than you are now. ARE you positioned to do that?
Or are you worried? Are you strong enough to make it thru?
It’s interesting having been in the position that I’m in for over a decade. I have started to see a very close relationship with the strategies of marketing efforts and how comfortable my customers are with the economic climate, whatever that may be. It’s interesting that some of the companies that told me just 6 short months ago that “All of my customers know me” are now giving me the “Nobody’s buying,” excuse.
I’ve talked to dozens of business owners about this recession, or what ever you happen to call it. A “correction in the market,” is my favorite. It’s the most optimistic. Take into consideration statistics on the other “recessions.”
Past Recessions: Duration- 1953-54: 10 months
- 1957-58: 8 months
- 1960-61: 10 months
- 1969-70: 11 months
- 1973-75: 16 months
- 1980: 6 months
- 1981-82: 16 months
- 1990-91: 8 months
- 2001: 8 months
National Bureau of Economic Research
Interesting numbers, aren’t they? The National Bureau of Economic Research is telling us now that this “recession” has been going on since Dec of 07, so this “recession” has already gone on longer that all but two of the periods of recession between 1953 and 2001. We can all probably guess that it will last longer than 16 months. That would have put us coming out of it in April or May, and we can probably all agree that that is not going to happen. The NBER says, ““Some suggested that the best case scenario for the economy is that it would reach bottom in the second quarter of 2009.” Best case scenario…. It’s hard to even think about the worst case…
Let’s just assume for a moment, that you knew in advance when this recession will end. How would that change your perspective on your company? How would that change the decisions you have already made as a reaction to the present economic conditions. How would it change the decisions you have yet to make? Would you slash the marketing budget if you knew that the economy would begin it’s recovery in, say, November??
Excuse #1 in my Excuses Blog is “ My customers are not buying.” Will you be ready to sell again, when your prospects are ready to buy?
It puts an interesting perspective on the Buying Cycle, doesn’t it? So much of B to B business, especially Industrial, depends on what the buyer wants to do. And yet, we still run our businesses ignoring their habits and tendencies. We build our marketing around how we want to sell. But is that really the best way to grow our business? How can we change our tendencies to make our prospects more comfortable buying from us? How can we change our tendencies to make it easier for our prospects to find us when they are ready to buy? Have we done everything we can to make it easier for our prospects to buy from us?
The answers are pretty complex, but there are some easy things that you can do to focus on your product instead of your sales process. Make sure that your company is coming up on Search Engines & Directory Listings when your prospect is looking for your products. Have you done that? Make sure that every Directory Listing you have out there has correct information. Have you done that? Make sure that your website is easy to find and easy to navigate, and has complete information about your products and offerings. Have you done that?
Most of us are calling this recession a “down time.” Are you using this “down time” to your company’s benefit? Are you working on your product offering during this “down time?” What are you doing, while your customers “are not buying” to make it easier for them to buy when they start buying?
Don’t waste this recession! Make it work for you!