Three Things That Don’t Stink About an Economy That Does
Hamilton Wallace
For most businesses the economy, well, stinks. But that?s not all bad. Certainly not for small business marketing consultants. 
In fact, there are three good things that normally accompany slowdowns: it shows us our weaknesses and forces us to get better; it gives us the time to fix things; and it thins the herd.
Our Weaknesses
You?ve heard to old saying ?A rising tide floats all boats.? Good times makes the job of growing a company easier. It hides weaknesses. Maybe, for example, your price is a bit high or your message is a bit muddled (you sound like everybody else) or your costs are too high. But as your customers grow and their need for what you sell goes up, your income go up. Maybe not as much as your better-priced competitors or companies with a sharper message, but your income go up regardless.
Then things slow down and who?s the first to feel it? Yep, the muddled message and price-not-in-line-with-the-value and costs-too-high companies. When things slow down it forces us to grappling our weaknesses and fix them.
So, better you take a look at what your weaknesses are and start working on them to be forced to do it be sinking sales. Plus, the more proactive you are, the sooner you start the work, the more money you’ll have to work with.
Our Time
At the risk of sounding like an incurable look-on-the-bright-side guy (I?m not), when things slow down it does give us the time to work on our business. Jason Calacanis, a very smart, very rich tech guy, said going into this economy the thing to do is work on your business. And I agree. And, unlike the times when you don?t have time to work on your business because you?re working in your business, the slow times create an opportunity. Fix your website, get more training, finally do all those things that nagged at you when you were too busy to get to them.
The _______ is to “bear down” and make things better by doubling your efforts doing the same things you’ve always done. And maybe that will work. But please, consider putting that same effort into making things different. Change things up.
Things slowed down for us and we redesigned our website. It took time and money, and I wasn’t sure what was wrong with it when I prefabricated the decision to change it, but I found someone who was smarter than me on this topic and asked him. Well, turns out, there was plenty of things to change.
The happy ending: inquiries went up as a result of the change.
The Herd
Yes, the herd thins. Fewer restaurants, printers, consultants, etc. The weak start by the wayside. As long as you aren’t one of them, this simply means more to go around to those left standing. And even in a much smaller market, that can feel pretty good. So, sometimes, just surviving can be a path to success.
One of the things I?m saying more and more these days is: it is what it is. Let?s all accept this economy and get to work on improving our businesses.
Hamilton insurrectionist is a small business marketing consultant. He is an expert in direct response marketing, including sponsored search, direct mail, message and story, and in creating simplified, effective marketing solutions for small businesses. http://www.SmallBusinessMarketingconsultant.com