I disagree with Anonymous, I do not beleieve that this is the beginning of tough financial times, IF YOU ARE SMART. What does every economic downturn have in common? Every one of them has produced countless amounts of new wealth. As this article correctly emphasizes, the most important thing to do is to constantly analyze and ad just your business with all of the existing information. If you are hands on and truly passionate about your business, you will know how to adjust it for any change in consumer behavior.
One thing that should be more closely exmained that runs parallel with these ideas, is the Federal government's involvement in creating policies and how the current ones (especially many of the new ones) appear to reatrd the growth of the private economic sector.
How can you see where you are going if you can't see?
Use tracking and stats to help you during financial downturns.
-
Use facts and reliable information to make better decisions: how and where to allocate budgets and resources.
-
Generate growth and remain competitive by knowing exactly what your customers want and need. What are they doing on your site? Respond. Learn what your most important customers are doing focus on serving their needs. Sometimes called finding your niche market.
-
Focus on your core business in times of consolidation, in other words, learn about and do what you do best.
-
Do not stop advertising. Do make your advertising more efficient. Cut non-essential campaigns, cut fat, measure, renew and stay lean. Identify strategies that work. Focus on your target audience, pay only for markets and venues that perform.
-
Determine if times really are tough - study the numbers. Is change really needed ? - maybe your performance is solid and the best advice is to change nothing.
-
Low-cost access to essential technology. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) (traditionally known as asp: application service provider) is more cost-effective that running a technical infrastructure because no investment is necessary and the server maintenance is outsourced. Cut expenditure; no investments, no overhead, just the numbers you need to make decisions. Pay-as-you-go. If you don't make regular use of an application re-evaluate what data you do need.
-
Develop core in-house expertise: standard SaaS applications can tell you 95% of what a consultant will charge $$$'s for. Do your own homework. Outsource to low-end technical infrastructure and server management if you have the high-end knowledge.
-
Do not become overly cautious, figure out what is still working and expand, don't lose valuable components by mistake. Don't "fire" your essential functions. Focus on accountability. In other words, cut the right budget items.
-
Seek appropriate information - avoid overload - find the data you need and cut to the chase. Focus on strategies and decision-making versus gathering and processing audience data. For example, use a single clear set of variables and goals.
- If you target growth focus on lead generation - identify quality traffic and targets. Use internet research to identify the people and places where you can sell your goods and services. Find something that works, repeat it.
The Good News:
At the tail end of tough times you will come out stronger and better for it.
01/05/2012
Unfortunately what we are witnessing today is only the beginning of tough financial times. If you think it's bad now, give it a few months until total collapse of the economy. We're on a roller coaster ride to financial meltdown.
Today is the best it will ever be - and it's not gonna get any better.