In case it has escaped your notice, we are in troubled times – heading for a recession at lightening speed if the Media are to be believed.

Whoever you listen to at the moment, whether they are experts on the economy, Politicians or other figures of authority, the word on everyone’s lips is…

“Recession…”

But is the economy really as bad as we are led to believe? And if it is, what can you – as the owner of your business – do to reduce the impact it will have on you?

It’s definitely the question I’m asked the most at the moment:

“What do I need to be doing in my business in order to survive?”

It’s true that consumer and some business spending is down. It was announced recently that retail spending for April in the UK was dramatically down on the figures for the same period last year. Indeed, the annual midsummer retail report states “this is the worst retail market since the early 1990s”.

And there can be no doubt that the credit crunch, falling housing prices, rocketing fuel bills and increasing food prices have affected spending. But does this mean that all businesses are going to go under?

Of course not. And here’s why…

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a Recession as “a temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced.”

There are 2 key words here – temporary, and reduced.

Do people stop buying? No. They are just more choosy about what they spend their money on.

During the last recession, did all Hairdressers go out of business? No.

Did all Estate Agents go out of business? No.

Did all Accountants go out of business? No.

Did all Dentists, Garages, Clothes Shops, Copywriters, Journalists, Butchers, Car Leasing Firms, Pubs, Restaurants, Shoe Shops, Plumbers or IT Companies go out of business? No.

See my point?

Granted, many businesses did go under, but then businesses fail everyday. It’s just that a recession accelerates the process. The fact remains that in the majority of cases there are certain things they could have put in place to prevent it from happening to them.

As a regular reader of my newsletter, you should by now (I hope) realise I am a firm believer in implementing systems into businesses, even marketing systems – after all, it’s what I do for my clients.

Systems mean consistently. Systems mean predictability. Systems mean you can ACTIVELY improve what you are doing. You can actually start to predict growth with a measure of certainty.

It is my belief that ANY business can be made recession proof. If some businesses in an industry can survive economic hardship, so can others. The problem is that most businesses don’t have even basic business systems in place – let alone in their marketing.

“When the going gets tough you need more sales… to get more sales you need more effective marketing… yet when sales start to fall off, the first budget to get cut is the marketing!” Anon

Hmmm, interesting…

This is what business growth experts Michael Gerber, Dan Kennedy and Jay Abraham have been talking about for the last 30-something years, and many of the techniques used have been around far longer than that!

The trouble is that the majority of people view marketing as an expense.

I agree with that – in part…

If you are not making a direct and measurable return on your marketing money it should be regarded as an expense. But if you ARE making money on the results you are getting from your marketing, then it is actually an investment.

Would you spend £100 to get back £120, if you KNEW it was a dead cert? Would you spend £5,000 to get £20,000?

As long as you have the right things in place, you can quickly and easily implement systems which will give you this certainty – creating marketing systems which will produce consistent and predictable results.

Don’t believe me?

Take a look at McDonalds. Ray Kroc created the most successful business model ever – all through systems.

Do they produce the greatest burgers in the world? I guess that depends on your personal taste, but then does that really matter?

You can go into any McDonalds Restaurant and, apart from any language differences, have exactly the same experience as you get in any other McDonalds – anywhere in the world!

Or a “nearer to home” example…

An Estate Agents I’m working with have just had their third consecutive record month – in the current climate – and one of their competitors have just gone into receivership!

Are you doing enough to secure your future?

Now, onwards…

… to your success!

Jez