Don’t Change your Lifestyle. Change your Supermarket.

In recessionary times your market changes and as the recession deepens will continue to change. The survival of your business could depend on how well you adapt to the changing market conditions and more importantly your customers changing needs.

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The phenomenal success enjoyed by the low cost German Retailers (ALDI and LIDL) are in no small part due to their ability to understand their market and adapt to the changing needs of their customers. As economic circumstances change, customers become more price conscious and demand value for money.

• How have your customers changed?
• What impact has the downturn had on them?
• We know they are still spending money; the big question is how much of it they
• are spending with your business?
• Are you losing customers?

It is well documented that any business that increases its advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can win new customers and improve market share. Again, we need only to look at our German Friends, to see proof of this.

• What message are you sending out to your customers?
• Has your marketing message changed to adapt to the new economic environment?

To succeed in the downturn all business need to re-engage with their customers and adapt their marketing message to the new economic reality. A powerful marketing message needs to be customer focused. A good marketing message should address all the points below.

• Identify how your customer’s needs and priorities have changed?
• Understand the biggest problem/challenge they face?
• Understand how they feel about the particular problem/ challenge and appeal to their emotion.
• Demonstrate clearly how you can provide them with the solution to their problem.
• Tell them about the benefits they will receive when you have solved their problem

A well thought out Marketing Message directed at a particular audience, targeting a specific problem/ challenge, will bring more customers into your business and help you increase your sales and boost your cash flows. Stop Surviving and Start Thriving.

Need help with your marketing message – we can help you!

5 Practical Tips to Counteract the Downturn

Consumer confidence is at an all time low as our economy moves further south each day… There is a lot of uncertainty about which is causing many good business to struggle in the difficult economic environment. Even if your business is struggling, you can take steps now to turn it around and position your self for Growth when the upturn comes and it will come.

Here are 5 Practical Tips you can follow today:

Keep Selling: Many businesses have stopped selling or have drastically cut back their advertising and marketing budgets. This means there is less competition out there for your products and services which presents a golden opportunity for you to win new customers and increase your market share.

Get Innovative with your marketing: What worked in the past, may not work today. Put systems in place to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and test them. Be Innovative, try a different marketing technique, measure the result, if successful implement it in your business, if not then try another marketing technique. The key here is to quickly identify 4-5 proven techniques that will now work in your business, helping you to get more customers and increase sales.

Talk to your customers: In a downturn, your customer’s needs and priorities change. Don’t assume your customers are happy with the products/ services you sell. Ask them how you are doing? What they like about your products/ Services and what can be improved? What other products they would like to buy from you?

Talk to your employees: Ask your employees for comments and suggestions on how the business can be improved and made more efficient. In these uncertain times, employees are fearful for their jobs and will do everything they can to ensure the business continues to grow and their job is secure. Tell your employees you are looking for ways to cut costs and limit layoffs and ask them for their suggestions. If your solution includes pay cuts, 3 day weeks, or additional responsibilities, they will react more favorably if they know you’re doing everything you can to keep them on the job.

Limit Layoffs/ Redundancies: In many cases you may have no choice but to cut staff. Should this happen, great care needs to be taken as sweeping cuts may cause morale and productivity to fall among the remaining employees, prompting other employees to leave as well. Also, when customers hear that you have downsized they may lose confidence in your company’s ability to handle new orders.