Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM April 2020 | Page 20

MARKETING
LEEANNE LOWE
President and Founder
Empire Creative Marketing
www.empiread.com
HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
AN ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
And Position Your Company for Growth!
W
hile slowdowns bring concern they also
offer opportunity. Slow periods open
up valuable time that can be utilized
to focus on your goals and position
your company for growth. So instead of
panicking, now that business is slow, it’s time to get busy
working on your own business!
Here are five things you can do to improve
your business during a slowdown:
• Review and Update Your Business Plan - A
strategic business plan provides clearly
articulated objectives and a roadmap for
achieving them. Investing time in creating
a strategy is invaluable. Not only does it
help you focus on your priorities and set
the direction for your organization, it gets
everyone on the same page and simplifies
decision-making. Your business plan should
define your goals in the next 5 to 10 years,
and the steps needed to reach them. It
should also include your purpose, vision,
and means of operation. In addition to
providing internal guidance, a business
plan can be used to explain your objectives
to investors, partners, employees, and
vendors.
• Create A Marketing Strategy - Successful
companies do not abandon their marketing
efforts when times are tough, they take advantage of
them. It’s in a slow economy, when others are putting
a pause on their marketing, that you have the biggest
opportunity to get your brand out there and get
ahead of your competitors. Take the time to create a
marketing strategy, rework your budget, and enlist
a good marketing firm to help you maximize your
marketing initiatives.
• Implement “Behind The Scenes” Marketing Initiatives
- Does your marketing strategy involve building a new
website, designing new collateral, or building a new
sales funnel? These initiatives take time to develop
and create. They are also often not creating new leads
while in development. So, while business is slow, use
the time to get those new projects completed so they
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are ready to launch as soon as business is picking up.
• Refine your Internal Business Procedures. There
is room for improvement in every company. Slow
periods give you the chance to reflect on your
business model and processes to see where you can
make things better. Perhaps it’s by getting your files
organized, updating your bookkeeping, streamlining
your office procedures or updating your sales
funnel. Smooth systems make team members more
productive, clients happy, and improve the bottom
line!
• Develop Your Team Members - Slow times present
the perfect opportunity to further develop your staff
members. There are plenty of workshops and online
training programs that will give your personnel
new skills and make them more valuable to your
customers and your business.
Yes, slow seasons can be scary, but let’s make the
best of them. Get intentional and get busy! By gearing
up and working on your business, you’ll be ahead of the
game and well prepared to move forward powerfully
once business picks up!