As the credit crunch starts to bite, and businesses head into a circle of reduced confidence leading to reduced spending, which in turn lowers confidence, Julia Chanteray shows the canny entrepreneur looks at how to make the best of it.
Ideas for the canny entrepreneur
If you’ve got money, think about the bargains you can get just now while everyone else is hiding under the duvet, too scared to get their chequebooks out. No, I don’t mean go and buy a new frock to cheer yourself up.
Are there companies you can invest in, bargains you can bag, contracts with suppliers you can renegotiate by offering to continue to buy at an agreed rate.
If you've not got money
If you haven’t got money, you’ll need to think of some clever marketing ideas to make sure you fill up your bank account. Some special offers, would be very welcome at the moment. Think about how you can get people to spend now, if you need to get money in fast. Have a look at my article on the art of the special offer.
If cashflow is okay
If your cashflow is all right for the next few months, but you’re concerned about what might be down the road, think about encouraging people to buy now, pay later. You can close a deal by offering terms which mean that people don’t have to dig into their pockets right now, but they’re committed to the future. And it’s always lovely to get a cheque for some work you did 6 months ago, because by then you’ve forgotten about how much time it took.
Sectors which are still expanding
Look out for the sectors which seem to be expanding. Technology, especially online tech still seems to be going strong, so this might be an area that you want to get into. This doesn’t mean that you have to set up a software company (a bad idea unless you know something about the software business) but you might want to take some time to learn about the new technology out there that you can use to promote yourself. Much of it is free and pretty easy to use if you spend a little time learning about how it works. So, are you on twitter yet (and are you following Julia Chanteray?) are you using LinkedIn to its full advantage to network and find the right people to do work with?
Don't despair!
Don’t despair! People are still spending money, but they’re taking much longer to decide to spend because they’re not sure what’s going to happen. Surveys are showing that businesses are still spending on marketing (but not advertising) so business confidence is not as bad as the BBC would have us believe.
One of the most important key success factors in business is confidence, and in difficult times it's even more important to retain your confidence and optimism.
if you're in a doomed industry
If you’re in a troubled sector, and have got yourself into selling 4x4 cars or have a business model based on advertising revenue, then think again about whether this is the right way to go.
Some sectors are just not going to recover from the economic decline. I’ll stick my neck out and predict the demise of many magazines and newspapers, Hummer cars (good thing too, they’re incredibly ugly) and mid market luxury items. Sometimes it’s a good idea just to get out – you don’t want to be the company selling stage coach tickets, just as the railways start up.
Being remarkable - the only way to go
I was explaining to a client today that in times of economic crisis, the wheat gets sorted from the chaff. The people who have been coasting along, getting away with poor (or no) marketing, lacklustre customer service, or rip off pricing will go to the wall in the next couple of years. Everyone thinks that they provide a great service, but have a real hard look at your organisation and make sure that it is really remarkable.
Be honest – everyone has something they can improve (says Julia, looking around at the list of people she was supposed to call today, but wrote this article instead :) In this climate, there’s still money to made, but it will only be made by the remarkable companies, doing extraordinary business.
What to do next?
If you’re worried about the effect the downturn is having on your business, get in touch for a consultation with Julia Chanteray, and see what the future holds for your business.
Julia Chanteray
back to top
back to resources page |