In a recession, the fittest survive and the rest go out of business. That’s because entrepreneurs are battling over the limited customers and their limited money. In a game where supply over exceeds demand, there will be a lot of losers.
The best marketing savvy entrepreneurs will not only survive but also thrive in an economic downturn. Those who manage to increase their sales and attract more customers or clients will have momentum on their side.
Generally, consumers buy from the most popular retailer or deal with the most popular service business. These prospects measure popularity by sales or number of clients.
In a recession, this mentality is more apparent since prospective customers or clients don’t want to take any chances and will opt to give their money to the tried and tested i.e.: the most popular.
All that said the most important business function especially in a recession is marketing. Knowing how to attract more clients, close more deals and become the default choice of the majority is the best skill an entrepreneur can have at his disposal.
For entrepreneurs who lack the marketing skill, all is not lost. Talent can be hired on a full-time or contractual basis. Marketing knowledge is also available for free at public libraries.
A quick visit on Amazon.com will reveal the best-selling marketing books that can be found in every bookstore or library. That’s a good start.
Probably the best way to learn marketing is by being observant. What works and what doesn’t get reported on every day in various media. To repeat my mantra, the best marketing ideas are free.
How do you recognize the best marketing talent? A solid track record and the ability to self promote (the hardest marketing job in my opinion) is a key element. So is the ability to adapt to different industries, categories, products, services and ideas.
In my view, the best marketers are those with a PR background. That’s because they’re great communicators and have a knack of spotting simple yet powerful marketing ideas that build great brands and turn around companies.
And since marketing is a battle of ideas, who better else to forge these weapons?
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