HOW TO SUCCEED IN A BAD ECONOMY

These are important practices that have helped me not only stay in business but grow my business over the past three years which I feel are important to share.
You have to be happy when the economy of your nation is bad because you have the solution in your hands.
Whether you are a business owner or executive or a salesperson or customer service representative you may find some benefit from these ideas.  I believe that the success of our great nation and continent is dependent on the success of small business.  Without successful small business and entrepreneurs we will lose innovation and drive.  In order for small business to survive in the new global economy we must adapt and act quickly, with these few ways.
1.    Remember Your Core Values 

Remember when you started your business or your new job?  Why did you start that business?  Why did you get that new job?  Did you find wrongful practices in your industry that you felt should be changed?

When I started my business in September 2007 I saw many things wrong with my industry. I saw competitors price going higher and clients and providing less than professional services. I felt that businesses in our nation deserve better quality work and fair pricing.In tough times it’s imperative that we remember to stick to our core values.  If you value honesty, integrity, and loyalty to your customers then make sure you remember to apply these virtues every day.  You may have bad days and you may have good days; the economy may be up and down; your sales may be up or they may be down.  At the end of the day it’s your values that will drive your success.

2     Stay Innovative; Don’t try to Re-Invent the Wheel

I recently attended a seminar in A Beachy environment about innovation.  The seminar reinforced my own philosophy of always doing things differently.  Keeping your methods diverse will help you become more innovative.  Innovation is the key to growing your business – coming up with new ideas and new methods will allow you to get ahead of your competition. 

Innovation doesn’t mean re-inventing the wheel.  If you have ideas that work and they work well then don’t waste your time trying to fix something that isn’t already broken.  Instead you should focus on areas that you know can use improvement. Always think outside the box.

 3.    Don’t Hide from your Customers

As the owner of a small business that provides professional services I deal with other businesses on a daily basis.  One of the biggest problems I’ve seen with businesses is that when the economy is down they will hide from their customers.  When business is slow the worst thing you can do is hide in a corner.  When demand is low and supply is high you must make yourself visible. 

So how do you make yourself visible?

There are traditional forms of advertising but as I’m sure you’re already aware they can be very costly.  It is important that you evaluate your advertising and marketing efforts regularly and measure your Return on Investment.  Additionally you should look for new effective methods of getting your name out there.

 4.    The Customer is Always Right, Always

Growing up my father always told me “The customer is always right”.  This is the golden rule of business and it is something that I live by. 

I remember when I was in Middle School my oldest sister worked at an ice cream shop.  At dinner one night she told my family about something that made her upset at work.  A customer had complained to the owner that the ice cream he was given was too melted to enjoy.  Rather than offering him his money back or giving him a new ice cream cone the owner of the store said “I don’t need your business.  If you’re going to complain then get out of my store and don’t come back.”   Well that customer didn’t come back and the ice cream shop went out of business later that summer.

 Customer service goes a long way.  Whether you are a large corporation or small business the most important part of business is customer service.  Without your customers you won’t have a business.
 So how can you improve customer service? 
You can start by coaching your employees regularly about customer service.  They may try to fight it at first especially if they think you are being redundant but as long as you make sure you get your point across then they should understand.  After all it’s not just your business they are representing but they are representing themselves as well.

 5.    Stay on Target

The final practice I will leave you with is making sure you stay on target.  When you formed your business or started your new job you most likely had goals.  If you ever wrote a business plan then you came up with short term and long term goals. 

When money gets tight sometimes it’s easy to forget your goals.  If your short term goals seem out of reach then it’s okay to adjust your short term goals to adapt to the present situation while still keeping your long term objectives in place. 

When supply is high and demand is low you should lower your prices to keep sales up.  When supply is low and demand is high it’s okay to increase your prices to grow your business by implementing new technologies, hiring new personnel, or reaching out to new markets.  When you are doing well is when you should begin implementing marketing campaigns so that you won’t have to worry about breaking your piggy bank to advertise when business is slow. 

It’s good to set goals that are beyond your reach or the reach of your sales force.  It will keep you and your sales team on your feet and prevent you from slipping into a comfort zone.

Written by Israel Koffi Abrobah.

Israel Koffi Abrobah is a counselor and business man residing at Accra Ghana.He is a writer,a motivational speaker and a business consultant