Six counter-intuitive ways to survive in a recession

1.  Don’t let your people go

Many companies claim that “our people are our greatest asset”. Yet when the going gets tough it’s this great asset that gets the push first. Before you start jettisoning staff: consider whether they could possibly be engaged in new and different activity for you, perhaps in a new business opportunity (see point 2).

2. Don’t stick to the knitting

Recession is not a time for sticking doggedly to what you’ve always done, but for innovation, radical examination of what you’re trying to achieve, and for seriously considering reinvention. In recession use the down-time to experiment, try new products, examine your brand. But see point 3.

3. Don’t mix up your strategy and your planning

Strategy is about where you want to go. The big picture. Planning is about the steps to get there. Too many people mix them up, especially under pressure of recession. If you truly believe in the big picture hold fast to it, but be prepared to radically change the plans to get there. And if you have doubts about your strategy, take time out now to really examine where you want to go.

4. Don’t throw good marketing money after bad

But don’t slash your marketing in a knee-jerk response either. Instead look at what you are trying to communicate and to whom. Then tailor your marketing accordingly. Be crystal clear in your communications, but never forget that you need to capture customers’ hearts not as well as their heads.

5. Don’t forget that brand is not the same as marketing

Your brand is your most powerful and most fragile property. It’s everything that people think, feel, hear, say and believe about you. Your brand is what you mean to the world. Examine it carefully. Nurture it now more than ever.

6. Don’t waste energy trying to sell to people who are trying to sell to you
I believe in networking. But I don’t believe in card-swapping festivals. If you want to network, do it in new and interesting places that challenge you, extend your brand network and lift you out of the ‘usual suspects’ melee.

Date posted: Thursday 19th February 2009Back to news home page >