Recession-Proofing Your Business

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

This is a challenging time for many companies. Business is slowing down and people are cutting back on their spending across multiple industries. The fear and concern of a major recession is on the minds of most people. However, it’s not all bad. Actually, you are in better shape than you think. One of the best things about running a small business is the ability to react quickly and efficiently to a financial crisis. Here are a few tricks that I have learned over the years:

Keep it Lean

There are some basics in this category – like not flying in coffee from New York for your staff (yes, I have heard of that). But seriously, there are some other things that you can attack that you might not have thought about. How about getting rid of unprofitable clients? Many businesses don’t realize how unprofitable certain customers can be. As a Houston Courier Service, I’m very aware of this problem. You will need to dig deep into the numbers to see if you can spot them and find a way to make them profitable. If not, go with the 80/20 rule on this one and trim the excess to save time and money.

Diversify

If you love what you do for a living than this one will be an easy one for you. I bet you can rattle off 5 things right now that make you different from your competitors. Can your customers rattle those same things as fast? I bet not. Review your marketing materials and talk with your sales team to make sure that you are communicating those differences as much as possible. Now is the time to stand out from the competition.

Resist Changing Prices

Raising rates will be a big temptation but remember your customers are feeling the squeeze just as much as you are. Don’t make your services one of the areas that they scale back on. Also, discounting your services too much will devalue your brand and might not be something that you can recover from. Just hold tight!

Keep In Close Contact with Customers

People do business with people that they like. Your customers need to know that you care! Don’t assume that they already know that — pick up the phone and remind them. Find out the little details in their life like their spouse’s birthday and send flowers. Not only is this fun to do but your customers will appreciate you for it.

In the end, a slower economy actually helps you find problem areas and become more efficient. So don’t let it get you down! You’ll emerge a better company on the other end!

Until Next Time,

Eric

Tags: Business, courier, customers, diversify, Houston Courier Service, recession

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