How to make your business survive at economic crisis
The fundamental point is the economic crisis that has shaken humanity, at least the economically advanced one with strong events that have destabilized it and made it almost immobile (not to say in a strong recession, live optimism!) for at least a couple of years now.
The fundamental question, how to make your business survive at the time of the global economic crisis?
Customer Analysis: What Do You Want?
Good advice! Money is scarce; sales fall accordingly. But we "companies" must continue to invest in market research. Of course, we don't have the million-dollar budgets of the big multinationals, but we have a simple tool, free of charge, which can be right for us, Google and its AdWords. Have searches gone down? How much?
And maybe if you lower the prices, even slightly, you can increase the revenues, or at least keep them stable. And it's not nonsense; you could find that by lowering the price slightly, you increase the number of orders. And you can earn even more because many more people are willing to buy at lower prices. On the other hand, this is nothing new; even small price changes can have a huge impact on sales.
Invest In Marketing, Especially In Times of Crisis
This is also excellent advice. Indeed, we believe that those who have the strongest shoulders have the right/duty to show them in times of crisis like these. Maybe even manages to snatch a few slices of the market.
Among other things, you don't even need to spend thousands of dollars on marketing; you could simply use what you already have and which others have made available (both in terms of tools and content), never heard of web 2.0 and viral marketing?
Reorganize the Product Portfolio
We market for those products with a high revenue margin, leaving everything else aside. We optimize resources by trying to spend as little as possible to earn as much as possible. The solution is very simple i.e., higher margins and higher profits.
Be At The Side Of Retailers
Maybe not all of them are big enough to have resellers, but all of us are resellers, then, we take advantage of the assistance that our suppliers give us in terms of marketing.
Adjust the Prices Down
As stated in point 1, lowering prices could even lead to an increase in revenues.
Optimism Is the Spice Of Life
If we have even one employee, we have to positively face the crisis, not to get down, not to be disheartened, and not to have a pessimistic attitude.
A good strategy does not just stop, but must prevent and above all predict what it will be or could be. It is, therefore, not necessary to limit oneself to short-term strategies but to look beyond and try to prepare a map of the path that you intend to follow in the future.
Focus on high potential customers
Strengthening customer relationships is called loyalty. Therefore, after-sales communication strategies come into play, such as the sending of questionnaires to receive feedback on the user experience of the purchase, the sending of newsletters, discounts, promotions, all aimed at the long term. It may be that the customer will not buy immediately, but months later.
What Is My Position Now?
If the period has been difficult, changes in the customer's purchasing system are inevitable, in the availability to purchase, the competition will have changed. New players will have entered the market; old players will have left. What position do we occupy in the renewed scenario?
Whatever it is, we try to keep our old customers close.
Check the Customers' Trust in the Brand
There is no doubt that the crisis brings changes, also in the way the customer perceives the company. Some strong brands may have lost confidence; others, however, may have increased it. How is our brand viewed by the public? If we worked properly "overnight" on waking up, we would be rested. On the other hand, all we can do is walk along the path of the ascent, steep, and bristling with obstacles.
Contain Costs, Always
Lower costs imply higher revenues. We have already said it and we repeat it.
We had experienced during the crisis, we do not throw away what we learned, but we reap the benefits and continue with the cost optimization strategy. The fundamental question is, " what will the ROI (Return on Investment) of the action I am about to undertake?”
This is whether we are talking about marketing, whether we are talking about an investment in infrastructure or of any other nature.
Be Flexible and Scalable
Our strategy should be modifiable over time so that it can adapt to the contingencies of the moment. You have to be scalable to always be ready to face the new challenges that will inevitably appear before you. This is that we are preparing a marketing plan, or that we are going to (let) make our eCommerce. Prevention is the solution, not a cure. It must be foreseen that needs could increase and verify that what we are about to do is able to adapt to them, whether they are operational or strategic.
Keep an Eye on Market Indicators
We know our market (or at least we should know it!), we know what the indicators are, let's not underestimate them, they can help us understand the future trend, and we can prepare ourselves accordingly to face it in the best way.
Marketing, Marketing, Always Marketing
With the recovery, you have to start marketing again (but we've never stopped, have we?). If we have not interrupted the actions in this sense, we will know how to move. Conversely, we will have to do it all over again, spending more and getting less. Above all, we need to optimize the details that make the difference between a sale and a lost customer. In conclusion, we would advise that investing in marketing always
, at all times and in all situations.
Author: Vicki Lezama