There’s no point in writing a recap of what happened to the economy and the landscape for small business in 2008. Open up any newspaper, click on any Internet news site, or for that matter, have a conversation with the person next to you. By now, it’s old news. And like the more than two million people that lost their job in 2008, we’re all happy to leave that year in the dust.
Aside from looking at the calendar and realizing it’s the here and now, it’s time to start focusing on 2009. What will the new year bring for the economy, small businesses in general and the continuously evolving societal impact the Internet has on business and industry in every category. At this point, one must think there’s no way to go but up, right? Although it’s scary to think, sure, things could get worse. But let’s think about the positives for a second (or, hopefully longer). And if you are one of the people that unfortunately lost a job in 2008, it’s time to put some serious thought to that burning desire you’ve always had about starting your own company, rather than go back to the corporate ranks.
One Presidential administration will be leaving soon, and another will be entering. Whether you voted for him or not, and whether or not you think he will bring good things to the economy, Barack Obama has a plan. And combined with all the financial rescue steps we’ve taken in the last 120 days to thaw out the credit markets, I’m fairly certain 2009 will be the year of the bottom. When you think about just how bad this economy has gotten, especially for the small business owner, the bottom is a much-welcomed phase for this economic cycle since we’re that much closer to a rebound. To be fair, it won’t happen overnight. But hitting bottom is better than the free fall and panic 2008 felt like.
The number one resolution you should be making as a small business owner is a willingness to make some tough decisions about your business. If you’ve been careless about your balance sheet or if you’ve expanded into areas you have no business being in, it’s time to take a good, hard look at your business and make the necessary cuts and adjustments so you can position yourself to come out of the “economic bottom” as healthy as possible.
Do some soul-searching to find exactly who and what your brand is. Think long and hard about why your ice cream shop is different than the ice cream shop down the street, for example. The answer to this question will be the foundation for positioning your turn-around in this economic cycle.
Now that you have a refreshed outlook on your brand, it’s time to get to work on telling your customers again about who you are, and the value you bring to their lives - even in this horrible economy. The truth is, people are still buying the things they need. But we’re not all robots. We’re buying things we want as well. Determine if you fall into the needs or wants category and build your marketing messages around this. Marketing’s job is to tell people about who you are and what you sell, and also to get them excited and change their buying behavior. But marketing messages are different for needs vs. wants, so it’s very important to distinguish between the two.
In the coming days, check back to get tips on how to refocus and rebuild your marketing plan for 2009.
Does your business sell a product/service that falls into the needs or wants category? Tell us about it here.
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