Downturns are the best time to take market share.  Most companies overreact.  They get too conservative.  They also forget that they are not the victims of the market.

Customers buy (or they don't) based on the way we do business with them, not the other way around.  So now is the time to get aggressive, compel customers to buy and hit competitors when they are weak.

Strategy 1; Don't cut the budget

The first thing scared business owners and executives do in bad times is cut spending.  It's easy.  But often completely wrong. J.paul Getty said, "Buy when everyone is selling.  And hold until everyone is buying"

Downturns are time to invest in:

New technology

New marketing campaigns

New people (hire the best salespeople, product developers, etc from your competitors, especially those doing layoffs and missing their quarterly numbers)

Strategy 2; Launch a Bold Marketing Campaign

In bad times, customers look for solid companies.  Brands that are visible win.  Whilst some belt tightening across the belt is prudent, this is one cost centre where too much cutting can kill you.  One area you can cut in marketing is the reach and frequency advertising. it is more powerful and cost effective to go big, in a very targeted way in lightening strikes, than to spread an advertising budget over 12 months.  Don't forget, if you make your brand disappear for a while, it may disappear for ever.

The seminal move is to figure out what the key differentiator is for your company.

Strategy 3; Buy companies

Valuations and market caps are way down.  Any company you want is a lot cheaper today than it was a year ago.

Doing acquisitions now allows you to expand your market footprint fast, with new offerings, customers, geographies, or markets.



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Where is your business right now?

Ask yourself the questions

Do you currently..

• Work long hours
• Take little or no money from the business
• Spend little or no time with your family
• Feel like you have a job rather than a business
• Work the hardest in the business… take the least amount of holiday
• Lack motivation and feel frustrated
• Need to do something to get out of your rut…

Lets take this a stage further:  If the potential profitability of your business is 10, what is your current performance?

Is it 2, 3, 4 maybe more, whatever the current level of performance what stops you from achieving that potential? It may be a lack of skills, it may be fear, it may be you have no time, your employees… the list goes on.

When you work with a coach we identify those interferences and then work on them with you, thus unlocking the potential and improving the performance.

Want to find out more? Then book into one of the Business Success Workshop’s NOW , simply call the Business Support Team on 01698 300928 to reserve your place OR e-mail christinehargreaves@actioncoach.com

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• Brad Sugars
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