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This is the first article in a series discussing three different business scenarios and what each can do to survive and thrive during a recession. If you’ve missed our introduction article “The Ultimate Guide to Predictable B2B Sales During a Recession”, read it here first. While there are five steps to ensure predictable sales, we’ve highlighted three specific actions to take if you’re a new business.
For established businesses who aren’t feeling the pinch of the recession, check out the second article.
For established businesses that are experiencing a slowdown or lower sales, either since last year or more recently, this third article is for you.
Now let’s dive into our first article which goes over what to do if you’re a reasonably new business (18-24 months). This is probably you’re first ever recession in business, and you’re not sure what to expect.
First things first: congratulations on starting your own business and surviving the first 18-24 months!
Hopefully, by the end of your first or second year, you should be able to see how viable it is, and if you’re still here I assume it is a commercial success. Remember your business shouldn’t just replace your job. A business that can’t work without you is just a risky job.
Always keep your eye on the end goal – exiting the business, whether through a sale or by employing someone to do your bit.
Alternatively, maybe you are in the midst of launching your new business – the advice here will still serve you.
Running a new business in a recession can be tricky. You’re likely not very well known in your industry, and word of mouth isn’t necessarily something you can rely on. However, you are also most likely a nimble company and able to adapt much faster than older competitors. You also likely don’t have much baggage and are open to doing things a bit differently.
No matter. Success can and is still found in certain industries and niches. There are a few keys to marketing as a new or newish business during a recession.
Understand Your Competition & What Makes You Different
As a newcomer, it’s likely you’ll have to face off and win against established businesses. The best way to do this and succeed is to know what everyone else offers so you can establish a unique selling proposition. Finding your own niche or special approach that customers value is key to succeeding in a tough market environment.
Established businesses tend to become complacent with their offerings and are often out of touch with what the customer actually wants. This proves an excellent opportunity to swoop in and pick them off one by one. Researching your competition and your customers is the key to making this work.
During a recession, it’s extra important to know your customer back to front. Their needs are likely changing or have changed due to the slowdown. If you can find out what it is and tweak your offering that will put you in good stead to succeed.
PRACTICAL ACTION:
Get clear on who your target market is and then speak to 10-20 people in your target market, well beyond your friends and family. Sounds hard? Trust me that’s the easiest action you’ll ever do for sales in your business. And frankly, if that scares you, you have to question if you are ready for business ownership.
Same-Same = Not Good Enough
If you’re starting a business that offers the same thing as everyone else, this simply isn’t good enough. Unless you are in the commodity business, then perhaps you don’t have much say.
However, every other type of business must find a niche in order to find success.
Build it and they will come may have worked for a few companies. But think of the most well-known brands like Coke or Microsoft. Notice what extraordinary efforts they take to keep sales coming. While you don’t need their huge budgets, you definitely need the tenacity, passion and persistence they demonstrate even while they are very well known.
Nowadays you need to build it right, communicate, market and advertise it to a specific audience, and then hopefully they will come.
A niche not only allows you to find your best customers, but it also cuts down how much work you actually need to do. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, which by the way means you are no one to nobody, you can focus on being very good in a particular area. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a broad set of services; it means you have to be single-minded in your approach to the market.
For example, you may have opened a café. I’m not suggesting you just start making 101 types of muffins and nothing else.
PRACTICAL ACTION:
I suggest you look around and see who the market is. Does your café attract mostly families, teens, corporate workers, tradies, or someone else? Look for ways you can appeal to your audience. Whether this be through specials or focussing on a particular type of baked good.
For service-based businesses, this means focusing on a particular industry or specific type of service within your business. If you’re an accountant, be the best accountant for mechanics for example. Find exactly what they need from you and how you can add real value to their business. Do this, and you’ll be sure to find customers who really value what you bring to the table.
Can Be Hard to Break In, But The Opportunity Is There
As a newcomer, you may have issues breaking through established competition and getting new clients. However, opportunity abounds, and if you’ve followed the two pieces of advice above, you should know what strategy to take. Take some time and find the best approach that gives you results. Don’t forget to measure your actions so you can understand what actually brings you the sales.
Offering something unique or the same thing with a new spin on it is the way to go. The Challenger Sale is a good book to read to educate yourself on how to succeed in any market environment. The gist of it is you need to challenge your prospects with insights only you know as an observer of the market. Then of course show how your product solves these newly found problems for the client.
Owning a social media game is another great way to stand out from the crowd. If you are on the younger side of the spectrum, you may have some good ideas about what is popular and gets attention on social media right now. Put this knowledge to good use and outmanoeuvre the larger more established businesses.
Remember how you are a spry and nimble business? It’s time to put this quality to good use. Run through ideas like a bullet train.
PRACTICAL ACTION:
Test, measure, and aim to fail quickly. The faster you can discount a sales/marketing idea, the faster you’ll get to what works for you. There are no bad ideas, if it meets common sense approval – just try it. One of the common mistakes in business is to stay in the testing phase forever.
What that means is that once something is working – scale and continue to test and measure. If it’s successful – scale more. If not – look for other ideas.
3 Steps for a New Business
To wrap up:
- A new business needs to understand the competition and its unique selling proposition.
- Finding a niche is no longer an option, in an economic downturn, it’s basically a necessity.
- And finally, breaking through the competitors may be hard but not impossible.
It’s important to be adventurous and persistent in your sales and marketing approach. Testing and measuring is the way to go to find exactly what works in your field.
Still in Doubt?
You’re not alone – these are times of incredible change and everyone is a bit on edge. It’s valuable to recognise that the situation is largely new for everyone and you are not alone, we are all in the same boat. If this is your first time in business, you’re probably not too sure what to expect. That is OK.
The good news is that there is always a pair of helping hands. One of the simplest ways to get clear on your sales and marketing is by having a sounding board and advisor you can trust. That’s why I’ve started offering a special virtual CMO service. We’ll meet weekly for 15 weeks and during these 100 days aim to achieve 10 goals when it comes to your business.
Think you need a bit more of a hands-on approach? My team is here to take the stress of marketing away from you. We are a multi-disciplinary bunch and have a wide range of skills to tackle any aspect of marketing. Whether it’s emails, web design, copywriting, video, LinkedIn management, strategy, or something else.
Get started by booking time with me for a chat and let’s see how we can help https://lnkd.in/dfGYSdUm
Assia Salikhova
Smarketing Lab Co-Creator,
developer of profitable B2B solutions to grow your business.
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