Nibletz Staff
Economic instability and recession can often be the downfall of small businesses. Many a great entrepreneurial endeavor has been torpedoed by a harsh and unforgiving economic climate despite a cogent business plan. However comprehensive your market research, no matter how well researched your cash flow projections, if you don’t factor the economic climate into your business plan, you’re building your house on a foundation of sand.
In uncertain times, both businesses and individuals face budgetary constraints that can seriously inhibit their spending. Though some businesses find themselves seriously affected by economic downturn, others are able to survive, and indeed thrive, by making themselves agile and finding inventive ways to weather the economic peaks and valleys. Of course there are no guarantees in the business world, but here are some ways you can limit the effects of a poor economy on your business and keep it fiscally bulletproof.
Find your USP
Luxury products and services are usually the first to get thrown under the bus in a recession but even those businesses and industries considered “evergreen” are far from immune. Plumbing services, for instance, will always be in demand but plumbers need to make sure that they stand out against their competitors in uncertain economic times. Check out ABC Home and Commercial Services’ website. They use qualifiers that promote their environmental awareness and emphasize the fact that their plumbers are fully background checked. These are some ways in which they can differentiate themselves from the competition. Of course, the best way to stand out from the crows is an acute awareness of your Unique Selling Point (USP).
If it takes you a while to think about what your USP is then… good! Your USP is something that you should agonize over. It’s your entire reason for being and finding it may be something of a vision quest.
Never stop marketing
It’s infuriating when businesses only consider their marketing when things are going badly. Marketing is a ubiquitous activity that should be pursued through the good times and the bad. Only by maintaining a strong marketing presence can you be assured that your brand is at the forefront of your potential customers’ minds. If customers need to tighten their belts, they’ll be nervous and apprehensive in their transactions. They’re likely to opt for businesses to whom they can relate and have trust, they’re far less likely to put their faith in an unknown commodity. This is where marketing can be your lifeline. There are a few ways in which you can help to develop this through your marketing strategy:
- Pay Per Click- Growing your reach organically can be difficult and time consuming. Many businesses kick off their marketing campaign with a Google Adwords and / or Facebook PPC campaign that’s specifically targeted at the demographics they want to reach.
- Content marketing- Posting regular and original content is a key step in giving your brand with which customers and clients can develop a relationship. Make sure that your content emphasizes your unique knowledge and skills with blogs, ebooks and whitepapers that potential leads will be able to access. Everyone likes something for nothing, after all.
- Outsourcing- Developing a digital marketing strategy is an extremely time consuming and process intensive endeavor. Sure, you could do it all yourself, but can your business afford to lose your time, attention and resources for long enough for you to put it all together?
Keep your cash flow healthy
In a difficult economy, businesses need to be as agile as possible to stay afloat. This means having the ready cash to move quickly on purchases and investments that will help your business to grow and evolve. This could be a cheap bulk batch of stock, talented new personnel, a piece of equipment that will boost your productivity and time efficiency, or even moving to a better location with greater footfall. Failing to move on any of these can impede your business’ growth and lead to stagnation, and this is what can happen if you create blockages in your cash flow by over investing in stock and being lax on debtors that don’t pay up on time. There are many simple but effective ways in which small businesses can improve their cash flow, thereby allowing their business to move with the times in an uncertain economic climate.
The economy is a vast and unpredictable beast that no small business can ever hope to tame. The best you can hope to do is armor your business against its caprice. By adopting these 3 simple safeguards you can put yourself in the best possible standing to weather the economic storm.
