Small Businesses: Get your recession flu shot.

Small Businesses: Get your recession flu shot.
By Michael Gallion

The stark reality should be clear: the U.S. economy is in a recession. Most economic experts are saying the current diminution of the economy will last for most, if not all of 2009. To make matters worse, the overall economic downturn seems to have taken the form of a contagious financial flu strain, a very resistant variety spreading to all areas of business. There are many business owners that eschew the notion, choosing a rather simple “hope I can just ride this thing out” strategy. Indeed, hope is not a strategy.
If you agree with the flu analogy then you will want to know how to get your business flu shot now so you can be in position for the challenges ahead.
Action item #1: You must be 100% honest about the current health condition of your business. Are you prepared for a prolonged drop in sales? Do you know how to align your resources to maintain profits at these lower levels? The more pragmatic you are about this, the better equipped you will be should you need to cut labor costs and downsize to stay in good financial heath.
Action item #2: Focus on the positives and figure out ways to be stronger or even grow. This is a better outlook to go in with and although it may not sound rational to plan for growth during a recession it can happen if you are savvy. A truth of recession that you should consider: “Those who fail to plan are planning to fail.” So what do you do if you don’t have a professional plan?
Action item #3: Get a flu shot. Simply put, you need to create a recession marketing plan. It has been said, “No other aspect of running a small business is as predictive of their success as the level of resources they dedicate to marketing.” Most business that go under next year will likely have one thing in common: A poor marketing plan leading to diminishing sales while stronger competitors gain market share. A proper and effective marketing strategy is the flu shot that will bolster the immune system and protect you from all the unnecessary pain and hardship of a severe economic strain.
The sad thing is most small business owners do not realize how affordable it is to get very good marketing advice and apply it. They also seem to underestimate how expensive it is to the long term to have poor marketing strategy. Entrepreneurs are very goal minded individuals. They need to carry the business vision through and achieve their goals for the company. But rarely does the master mind that initiated the business conception possess the complex attention to detail or extra time required to carefully develop a good marketing plan. If you are unsure about the health of your marketing plan…
Action Item#4: Hire a marketing consultant and do it now. A marketing consultant can offer you one thing you just can’t get from within the organization and that is an unbiased professional opinion. A marketing consultant should be able to meet with you, evaluate your current plan and give a specific outline of any weak links in your overall marketing game plan.
Action Item#5:You must eradicate anything that is not contributing to a cohesive identity for your business. You must have consistent branding and also you must consider additional revenue streams. A professional consultant can help with these marketing aspects and generate fresh ideas to use for new marketing tools. A professional consultant will inspire you to move to action and fix these weak links to solidify your marketing strategy. A great marketing consultant will also be there for you during the recession and in essence become a guardian of perception. From web content written from a marketing perspective to positioning, market research to branding, a good consultant will be well worth the investment right now, even when things are tight.
So if you feel a flu coming on remember, you can only get a preventative shot BEFORE the symptoms appear. Find a consultant and get a marketing check up today. Make sure your marketing immune system is healthy in advance. I am pretty sure you’re going to need it.


Copyright © 2008-2009. Michael Gallion & Vicky Gallion. All rights reserved. Michael and Vicky Gallion are owners of The Gallion Company in Redondo Beach, CA and offer business optimization through marketing and public relations strategy. They also focus on developing marketing recession strategy for small businesses. For more information about The Gallion Company, visit their website at http://www.thegallioncompany.com