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Reality Check
Marketing
in the Current Economy
Question - which are you? Are you a marketer who is upset and
in a dither that we have nearly 7% unemployment right now - or -
are you a marketer who is grateful that 93% of our employable
population actually have jobs at a time when the rest of the
world is much worse off? Do you find yourself in a "wait and
see" mentality, hoping the future will magically get better? Do
you understand that, if you don't change your no-win thinking
and behavior ... 2009 will be more of the same ... or worse?
It’s something to think about. Because if you are one of the
people who believe that you can not do effective business in an
economy that is lagging a bit, then you really have no business
being in business at all. The simple facts are - business has
ups and downs. Each cycle has it’s own set of opportunities for
growth and expansion. The only thing holding you back from
growing and building a good business is you. Let's examine some of
the evidence, shall we.
Fact one: While our economy is not booming right now, it
is no where near as bad as it could be or is in many parts of
the world. One thing that you need to stop doing is listening to
the media. Television and newspapers are telling us daily how
bad things are right now. In fact they are bad in some areas of
business, but they are especially bad in the media business.
Newspapers and television revenues are down more than 50%. Newspapers are having massive lay- offs and owners are looking
for buyers and bailouts. All of the television networks
including NBC, CBS and ABC have had huge lay-offs of employees. So it might occur to you that the media’s view of the economy is
not exactly un-bias at the moment. By the way, take it from
someone who has been in the media for over 20 years, they would
have problems right now no matter what the economy was doing. They have been digging this rather large pit for themselves for
a long time now and the chicken has finally come home to roost. So, the media is no indication of how our economy is doing.
Fact Two: The media has been telling us that this is
the worst economy since the Great Depression of the 1930's,
which of course leads everyone to believe that it’s as bad as
the 1930s. It’s not! While this may be the worst we’ve seen in a
while, it’s nowhere near as bad as it was back then. We have no
bread lines. We have no tent cities. We have no mass suicides
and dozens of people jumping out of windows to their death. We
have no massive unemployment approaching 20% as it was back
then. It’s no bed of roses at the moment, but it is not the
1930s.
Fact Three: Even in the Great Depression people made
money. And some people made a lot of money. We know that over 50
major (today Fortune 500 companies) got their start in the
middle of the great depression. People started businesses at
record numbers and while some didn’t make it, many did. And
those who survived - flourished!
Fact Four: You can lead a horse to water, but you
can’t make them drink. We have more horses in our society that
we have leaders. It has been written since the time of Moses
that people get the herd mentality. When things are not as rosy
as they could be, the world looks to leaders. You can be a
leader. By taking the lead in your business and showing how to
advance in a marginal economy, you will inspire and encourage
those who follow you. That includes your customers.
Fact Five: What matters is not how the economy is
doing, but how you respond to it that will determine your
success. In an economic downturn, buying habits change. Luxury
items often take a hit, but remember only from the high income
earners. The truly wealthy never back off, because they don’t
have too. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett may have lost millions
in the market lately, but they can still afford a new yacht,
airplane, house on the beach in Hawaii etc.
Your regular consumers however are going to refocus on the
"necessities." How can you position your products/services as
necessities? Health, security and safety rise to the top of your
customers' buying criteria. How can you make doing business with
your company ‘safe,' such as low risk offers? How can your
products/services increase their sense of security? Take the
time to think these things out and more in a direction that will
help your customers realize the benefit of doing business with
you.
Business is marketing in any economy. You may have to change
your focus a bit to do well in these times, but there is no
reason to stop doing what you know needs to be done to make your
business a success. And never forget, sell benefits not
features! Today people want to know how buying from you will
benefit them when money is short. Make sure they know!
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