There is a lot of talk about how bad things are right now.
The current economic times can be worrying, especially if the outlook in your business sector is weak or clients are not as willing to spend as they were. In short, a recession is bad news for everyone.
I read an interesting book this weekend called: “The Science of Fear” by Dan Gardner. Much of the scope of this book is general but it has implications for the small business owner in the current climate. Specifically the human tendency to form a belief and then filter everything that happens accordingly. We are far more receptive to inputs that confirm our beliefs – this is called confirmation bias.
Don’t believe everything you think
It is easy to get discouraged when times are hard. If you don’t think of yourself as a marketing expert this may be an area of your business that suffers. After all, it can be demotivating to search for clients when they are not spending. Perhaps it would just be better to wait this out, cut back on spending especially on marketing and re-examine things when the economy improves.
Do you see how persuasive this can be? Once you have formed a view that times are hard and overlayed on top of that is the thought that you were never much of a marketer anyway, it can seem to make good sense.
Connect with your passion
Now is the time to remember why you strated out in business in the first place. The dreams you had to help your clients back then are just as valid today, arguably more so. After all, if they are suffering right now they may well be looking at what you have to offer with great interest.
Now is the time when your passion for your business really has a chance to shine through. It is not a time to rush to try new tactics necessarily, but it is probably a time to really connect with your clients and find out what they are thinking right now. There is a good chance that they will tell you what their challenges are right now.
How does your business passion help them with their challenges?
Today’s clients are yesterday’s prospects
Your best prospects are probably facing similar issues to your clients. Does your message address that? Now is the time to really stay focussed on your mission, the challenges you help clients with and what you are passionate about. It is not the time to follow either of the following courses of action that are so common:
- Marketing avoidance – cutting all spending on marketing and waiting for things to get better
- Episodic marketing – trying anything that is on special offer, good for a month, unconnected to your core message etc. Beware the siren call of advertisers telling you to spend now while everyone else is cutting back
You are passionate about what you do and great at it. Who doesn’t want that at any time but especially when times are hard. Your passion will come through in your marketing when you are closely connected with it – now is the time to make sure you know what that passion is and how your business reflects that. That is a key to having a winning marketing message.
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