A few weeks ago, I was visiting the Grand Canyon with some friends. One evening while marveling at this majestic creation of nature a hawk ascended like a rocket with whirring wings, just a few feet away from where I was standing. I watched this magnificent bird glide some distance down the canyon. It was flying round and round against the sky by just using the forces of the air thermals rising from below. What a beautiful sight that was.
The peaceful sensation I felt, watching this bird’s effortless flight into the distance was so removed from the current economic angst and there was a reminder that we can go far if we are prepared to use the forces around us than fight them. It was a mental call to action.
In an environment of economic anxiety and sagging consumer confidence, businesses should deal with the internal and external “brutal facts” and revisit strategies and priorities, drive for cost reductions and productivity gains and look for opportunities.
Look at your business and how the new realities have changed your relationship to your customers and target markets
Focus on customer retention and use analytical tools to predict customer behavior and loyalty
Understand customers’ needs and develop a strong “call to action” message
Invest in technologies to improve customer engagement and attract new customers
Reorganize and reset priorities, planning to “do more with less”
Manage your business by the numbers with metrics that will help you improve productivity in sales, marketing, customer relations and other parts of the organization
Focus on cost-savings/cost-avoidance that do not hurt customer relationships
Outsource tasks such as electronic marketing, web strategy, marketing communication, business plan/marketing plan development
Avoid unfamiliar opportunities with unknown ROI, such as new marketing strategies and new communication channels, unless experimentation can bring you a well defined competitive advantage
Leverage the internet
--> Enhance web site “stickiness”
--> Invest in Optimization (SEO)
--> Strengthen Email marketing
--> Personalize customer engagement
