You may be surprised at this particularly if you are one of the many who get your economic intelligence from the media or, worse, from your mates at the local golf club or ‘watering hole’.
So if you stop long enough to think a little deeply (rather than fighting fires) you’d realise the title of this article is in fact a good question to ask yourself if you are a business owner or senior manager.
That said, a couple of BETTER questions are:
What industries do better in times of economic downturn or even recession?
Is my business in one of those industries?
Yes, indeed, they are very good questions.
To get to the answers we should look at history and I suggest the Great Depression of the early 20th century.
Throughout history there are those who have recognised the signs of the times and have been able to organise their business affairs so that they can profit regardless of what the economy is doing.
Modern day examples are Warren Buffet, Sir Richard Branson and Donald Trump, to name a few well-known names.
But then there are also countless unknown other folk who quietly get on with “getting on” and carve out their piece of wealth and prosperity for themselves, their families and for future generations.
A key message here is that what you expect will have a HUGE impact on what you receive.
If you are constantly speaking “doom and gloom” over your life and business – well, what do you expect to receive?
For the cynics out there who are thinking or saying, “C’mon Paul – do you really expect us to believe in all that positive thinking stuff?”
Well, frankly, no I don’t – afterall this is more than positive thinking.
It is about recognising an immutable law of the universe which says:
“Death and Life are in the power of the tongue”
Yep that’s right – what you (consistently) speak out of your mouth will bring you health, wealth, prosperity or doom, gloom and disaster.
You may not have recognised or understood that law until now – but that does not change the fact that it is a law, anymore than if you did not recognise the Law of Gravity and you jumped off a building.
Just because you cannot see the law does not mean it will not still operate.
Following our example, a person who jumps off a building would encounter the application of the Law of Gravity as they fell to their death.
Their lack of understanding of the law would not stop its application in their life and their untimely death.
So it is with your tongue.
7-Day Challenge – Operation “E-Neg”: aka Eradicate Negativity
I can almost hear someone say, “Well Paul that does not apply to me – I don’t speak negatively.”
Well fantastic – good on ya.
But humour me if you will.
For the next seven days take this challenge – if you dare.
Every time you or someone in your business says a negative word they must make a gold coin donation to a money box.
At the end of seven days evaluate how you did (or did not do) as a group of employees or family.
Then decide what you will do about what you discover.
Oh yeah … and make sure you give the collected money to a worthy charity of your choice.
Based on past experience they might expect a significant contribution if you and your employees undertook the 7-day challenge and then decided on a course of action thereafter.
So OK, but what’s that got to do with whether my business prospers or not in tough times?
Well, my friend, it has everything to do with it.
You see, studies of companies that did well during the Great Depression acted generally as if everything was normal. That is, they acted AS IF there was no recession.
Maintain or Increase Your Marketing Budget
This meant that they continued to promote their businesses and use their marketing and advertising budgets. Some companies like Proctor & Gamble aka P&G aggressively INCREASED their marketing budgets
During the 1920s, Fords were outselling Chevrolets by 10 to 1. In spite of the Depression, Chevrolet continued to expand its advertising budget and by 1931, the "Chevy 6" took the lead in its class and remained there for the next five years.
For the deeper thinkers I acknowledge that this is one of many factors and of course one needs to consider the type of product that was involved. Yet interestingly let’s take special note that P&G product range covers the essential consumable products, whereas Chevrolet (cars) represents deferrable purchases.
So it would not be acceptable to think that only companies with products in the essential consumable category would prosper.
In fact, what distinguished the companies that did well during the Depression was that they kept their name in front of the public and created brand name recognition even during the worst of times.
Application for SMBs
What about me? I am just a Small to Medium-sized Business (SMB) with a turnover in the $5 million – $20 million pa range - what do I do?
Well, for one thing, the high level principle of maintaining or increasing your marketing budget is still very much applicable.
What is very different though is HOW YOU SPEND IT.
DO NOT do mass advertising – you cannot hope to get significant brand name recognition unless you have very, very deep pockets.
DO look at identifying specific and measurable highly targeted customer acquisition and retention strategies.
This is akin to getting out your “sniper rifle” with specific intent rather than a machine gun that is firing wildly into where you think the prospects are.
Need help? Why not call us on 1300 66 44 89 (or if you prefer drop me a line to dowellintoughtimes@rightteam.com.au) and let’s have a confidential conversation for possibility about your business and what your options are to ensure that you prosper during these challenging times.
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