Change your mindset (and quickly)
Henry Ford said “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right” and it’s true. If during the recession, you think that you are going to come out of it, then you will. Just make sure to surround yourself with people who support you and reconnect with why you started your business; like a good Accountant, it will make a positive mindset so much easier and allow you to bounce ideas whilst reassuring you that you are not alone. It’s a proven fact that those businesses who weather the storm in a recession normally accelerate their growth when the economic conditions improve.
Increase your marketing activity
The temptation is to cut marketing to save on some costs but that will do more harm than good. A recession will show some clients that they aren’t getting the service that they want so how can you expect to win them if you’re not marketing yourself?
Increase your marketing in the right areas. For example, refresh the copy on your website, review your marketing to see what is working the best, send out weekly emails to your clients, call them every month and increase your activity on LinkedIn.
Make it easy for your customers to pay little and often
Customers will say they have no money (they are struggling too), but you will find that they do the right service. You can help them in other ways such as switching them over to a direct debit payment method or working out a repayment plan, something we at Glow Accounts can help with as well as credit checking potential new account holders.
Increase your efficiency and reduce your overheads
The best change that you can make for your business during a recession is to cut your overheads in a way that will increase efficiency. For example, what can be automated or eliminated? Don’t forget to involve your team in this process. Ask them weekly what they think can be improved on and you’ll see that they will have some great ideas. Glow Accounts can help identify ways to reduce overheads with reporting and analysis helping you to keep control of company spending. Another task that you can do which will cut overheads is to get tough with your long-term debtors and low-performers. If you tackle this head-on during the recession, you may find that costs will reduce while efficiency soars.
