11 Aug Ways to recession proof your business
As 2022 continues to roll on, many have wondered if the country is in a recession or not?
While there’s no dedicated rule dictating what defines a recession in the United States, the U.S. economy did shrink for the second straight quarter. With that in mind, businesses will take notice in regard to consumer spending and future planning.
The good news is that many local experts are indicating the Nashville market may not be as bad as other areas. The real estate market is stabilizing, the labor market is solid and commercial construction is still moving at a steady rate. For many Middle Tennessee businesses, they are keeping the “business as usual” mindset.
But whether there is a recession or not, it’s a good idea to have tactics in place that will keep your business recession-proof. Continue reading to learn more.
Develop a plan
Developing a plan of action is always a great idea no matter the occasion, but especially when you need to move forward in a new direction.
One of the first places to begin is to look at what areas are making you money. And also what areas aren’t doing as well.
If you can pinpoint that certain areas of your business are producing more revenue and where others are lagging, then you have valuable insight to move forward.
When times are going well, it’s easy to not do much or evaluate your business on a more introspective level. But you should be constantly evaluating and evolving.
Find new product offerings
Once you have a plan in place, it may be time to look at introducing new product offerings to your customers or clients. If you are spinning your wheels with certain products or service offerings, then it may be time to mix it up.
Follow the money and don’t be afraid to pivot. If you see an opportunity where you could increase revenue, then try it.
Creating services that provide a solution to your customers is the first step and once you nail this down, the product offering will follow.
Double down on what is working
Don’t let your marketing efforts wane during this time. In spite of the fact that many business sectors will take a dip, that doesn’t mean you need to stop what you’re doing
Ensure that you are committed to your marketing efforts.
As soon as the economic downturn passes, things will calm down again and return to some normalcy, so you’ll be right where you were, not behind the competition. Continue to do what you are doing, and maybe even more. Ultimately, this will be beneficial to your business.
Invest in owned media
For some businesses, a recession or a downturn could signal a shift within paid media. If this is the case, then strengthening your owned media is a great idea during this span.
Owned media is simply any channel under your company’s control. This would include your website, newsletter, blog content and social media channel posts.
By creating consistency among these tactics, you’ll experience a more cost-effective method when communicating your message. In turn, your efforts with your owned media will lead to earned media in time.
SEO
If you are practicing proper SEO, then you already understand it’s an ongoing process.
In turn, SEO doesn’t scale and can produce sales throughout the year, no matter the season. To contrast, paid ads are scalable as you can increase the budget within the platform to drive more results at any given time.
When looking at Google or other platforms, aim to optimize your business for revenue opportunities. By doing this, there’s a chance you could come out on top in the long run.
Conclusion: Developing a plan early can lead to big results in the end
Evaluating your business on a granular level can reap big dividends down the road. When going through a recession or any other downtime, you always have to keep the big picture in mind and understand the current situation will pass in due time.
Focus on growing your revenue and generating income. Many businesses automatically take the mindset of saving money, which is a good school of thought, but they forgot how to find ways to grow revenue.
Also, when you focus on your marketing, you can come out of a recession stronger than you were before.