Your Successful Small Business (Under any and all circumstances)
Posted by Rebecca Blackwell on Oct 7, 2008
Two important questions:
Do you have an answer ready to this question, “What are you really selling, and how will your business offering fare during hard times?” (What you think you’re selling and what your customers are really buying are likely two different things.)
Do you, as this article suggests, periodically “review and revise your plan to include everything and anything your business or startup needs during a crisis”?
If you don’t have a solid answer to the first question and answered no to the second, review your sales and marketing plans now. Get prepared.
Over-preparers take note (you know who you are): Getting prepared doesn’t have to be complicated and doesn’t require you to create fancy graphs and charts, emergency food rations, and an emergency exit plan involving the national guard. (Although, honestly, having an exit plan is just plain smart under any circumstances.) Something as simple as adding different price points can also enable you to weather an economic storm.
You could create (or recreate) a product or service (and marketing strategy) focused on marketing to the affluent. This could also involve creating (or repositioning your current product or service) a successful small business around those items that just make people feel like they are splurging. (Again - what are people really buying? Evaluate the real value of your product or serice.) After all, no matter what the economy is like, most of us will still splurge from time to time. Often, even more so when we are bummed.
Can you add value and market to a higher income demographic? (Check this out. The affluent are definitely still spending money.)
Can you add lower price points and keep customers who want to stay with you but can’t afford you right now?
You may need to completely reposition yourself. For inspiration (and just a really great story), check out this article by Larry Galler.
Regardless, get prepared. Get prepared not just to survive but to thrive. Shifts in demand are inevitable. But, there is no reason in the world why you have to be at their mercy. You can, in fact, remain in control and view times like these as rich with opportunity.
Marketing in Business and the Economy
Posted by Rebecca Blackwell on Oct 6, 2008
Last week I wrote a post (Right Now Might be the Best Time to Start a Business) about the advantages of starting a small business when the economy is less-than-perfect. As it turns out, eMedia Wire posted an article last week titled, Top Marketing Experts and Small Business Owners Agree There is No Recession, that makes a couple of excellent points along those same lines.
Here’s an exert from that article: “If we’re watching the news,” Lee says, “we have to ask ourselves do we really believe all these knee-jerk reactions? All we hear over and over is ‘the money is gone’ but where did it go is what we’re asking.”
Robin adds, “the thing is, the money is not gone. It’s still here, and for people who have the vision to agree that There is No Recession and to grab this opportunity, I believe we can have a repeat of what happened during the great depression where more ‘common folk’ became billionaires than any other time in our history”. “After all,” Robin adds, “what is really happening today is a correction of big business mistakes and a redistribution of wealth from THEM to US and truly there are time-proven and measured steps you can take today to make sure you take advantage of this immense opportunity that our government and big business has handed to us on a silver platter.”
Hmmmm…..
I attended a lunch meeting last week with 30 fellow entrepreneurs where the conversation sounded very much like the quotes in that article. In fact, most of the entrepreneurs at that lunch talked about how they were shifting their focus in order to best capitalize on the current economy.
Interestingly, most of them felt like this was the time to spend money, not hoard it; that right now they could indeed get the most bang for their buck and become the biggest fish in a smaller pond. (On a micro level, I say “good for them!”. On a macro-level, that’s also good for the rest of us. Those gutsy entrepreneurs are the grease that keep our economy moving no matter what.)
And where were most of them going to spend their money? On marketing their business.
An MSNBC report suggests that weathering an economic “storm” requires having a solid sales and marketing plan in place. I wonder how many small business owners and entrepreneurs have a plan in place to remain above water even in poor circumstances. Taking it one step further, how many have a plan to not just remain afloat, but to capitalize on poor circumstances. Do you?
Being committed, consistent and patient marketing your small business
Posted by Rebecca Blackwell on Sep 29, 2008
Marketing Guru Seth Godin wrote in his blog the other day about the importance of being “irrationally committed” to your business as an entrepreneur. I can’t think of better words to describe the level of persistence needed to get through the inevitable discouragement, overwhelm, bad decisions and sheer frustration that can come with starting, marketing and growing a successful business.
Entrepreneurs, being the big idea people that we are, are attracted (perhaps addicted) to the rush and the thrill and the risk of starting a small business. We have lots of great ideas, and often vast amounts of energy to throw behind turning those ideas into action. However, no matter how great the idea is, it’s the level of persistence (commitment, consistency and patience) that will determine whether or not we end up with a successful business.
In Seth Godin’s book, The Dip, he describes that inevitable point that every business owner comes to, where the business you began with great gusto and excitement becomes really, really hard.
I have often described starting a small business and marketing a small business as pushing a boulder up hill. You know that once you get to the top you will be just fine. It’s getting to the top without getting squashed that’s the problem. If you’re nodding your head in agreement right now because that’s exactly how you feel, Seth would say (and does say in his book) that it’s decision time. You must decide not whether you can push your boulder to the top of the mountain, but whether or not there is a top of the mountain.
The difficulty of the present moment is either:
1. A necessary step that will push you to learn, refine, and sharpen so that when you get to the top of the mountain you are highly competitive, competent and strong, and highly likely to have and maintain a successful business.
2. A never ending, exhausting journey in which you will eventually wear out and be crushed.
Which do you think describes your present moment?
If you’re unsure, you need to read Seth’s book. If your answer is #2, get out now. Guiltlessly. You need a new business plan. That is the wise and very, very smart choice. If your answer is #1, the most important asset you have is your level of irrational commitment (persistence) that will set you apart from everyone else and ensure your long term small business success. Right now, your ability to stay focused and motivated is all important.
