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The Marketplace of Fear

Guest post by: Patrick T. Malone

Article Overview: Much of today's marketplace malaise is being blamed directly on fear. The fear of the unknown, the fear of new taxes, the fear of new regulations, etc. all have been cited as causes for the continuing worst economic period since the Great Depression. Real or imagined this fear has caused a paralysis in our business communities and delayed the inevitable recovery. Realistically many of the causes of this fear are out of our control but that is no reason for us to give up trying to grow our businesses and help others grow theirs. The big problem is that most of the decision-makers and/or leaders across today’s business spectrum have only known growth and prosperity. The last period of real economic difficulty occurred in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

The Marketplace of Fear

Much of today's marketplace malaise is being blamed directly on fear. The fear of the unknown, the fear of new taxes, the fear of new regulations, etc. all have been cited as causes for the continuing worst economic period since the Great Depression. Real or imagined this fear has caused a paralysis in our business communities and delayed the inevitable recovery. Realistically many of the causes of this fear are out of our control but that is no reason for us to give up trying to grow our businesses and help others grow theirs. The big problem is that most of the decision-makers and/or leaders across today's business spectrum have only known growth and prosperity. The last period of real economic difficulty occurred in the late 70's and early 80's.

While the challenges may be greater now than in the previous years of prosperity and growth, it may simply be a matter of retooling your message. The marketing messages of the last 20+ years now cause fear and paralysis. How many of you continue to believe that "flipping" real estate is the road to wealth? What's your reaction to the myriad of multi-level marketing schemes being promoted on late night TV?

So if fear is the issue how can your product or service mitigate or eliminate the fear for your prospective clients and customers. These are the appropriate new strategies for a difficult economy and they are only limited by your creativity. Consider the following situations.

A generic strategy might involve shared risk. Let's say you are in the promotional products business and one of your prospects has an upcoming trade show and you believe your promo products would help them write more orders at the show. Would you be willing to provide your promo items at your cost for a percentage of all the business they write at the show? Putting your skin in the game would demonstrate your confidence that you can help them be more successful.

Another generic strategy for managing fear might be a test or trial. Your building a membership fee leads group but many of your prospects are uncomfortable committing to a full year's membership. Would you be willing to offer a 90 day membership at a token fee to prospects who need proof that there would be a good return on their annual membership fee investment? At the very best your confidence in offering that may be the impetus to inspire their commitment to a full year's membership or at the very least to a commitment to the 90 day trial.

There is fear in the marketplace today but I am convinced you can take that fear and make it work for you, your customers and your business. Try it, find out for yourself and then you decide on the best approach to make fear work for you.

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Article Tags: business spectrum, economic difficulty, fear, great depression



Related Forum Posts
Re: Fear of Success - You don't need to fear success. We should embrace it. Fear is define by a man of God as False Evidence Appearing Real. the meaning is what we fear most does'nt come to pass
Other Great Books... - Feel The Fear And Do It AnyWay - Susan Jeffers How To Stop Worrying And Do It Anyway - Dale Carnegie ('What's the worst that could happen - the worst?' Then prepare yourself for that and reality is such a relief!).
Re: What I'm reading this weekend - Oct 8, 2010 - these are great! In particular, I liked "you’re already perfect" and "Smashing through the Black Wall of Fear." That's exciting that there is a new 4-hour book out. I really enjoyed "The 4 hour Workweek."
Re: Franchises in Texas... - [quote="RussellWebb":1kwhwvtt]Hi GT - I'm just fed up with the hand wringing fear-mongers. Yes, let's all do our share to reduce our impact on the global warming issues, yet at the same time we need to hear both sides of the story... then make educated decisions.[/quote:1kwhwvtt] Hi Russell, But don't you think society would fall apart without "fear" acting as a control? Fear is what keeps people in check (e.g. if you commit a crime you go to jail or even get shot by the authorities in some countries).
What keeps you from just doing it? - I think many people have limiting beliefs that keep them from following through on their ideas. Fear is certainly a factor, but even more limiting is the belief that it's too good to be true. Many people don't believe it is as simple as they dream it could be. And yet, some people have done exactly that and made millions. Our world has taught us that you have to work really hard to get money and that it's only for a few. What belief do YOU have about money? Is it keeping you from taking that leap on following through with a great business idea? I used to check in with money possibilities before I made a decision. Now I decide what I want to do and then figure out how to use money as a partner to get what I want. It's so freeing to not make decisions based around money fears... even if the funds aren't even there to follow through with it yet. I feel like I've finally stumbled on a secret. I'm not a millionaire yet, but I can tell you things are certainly going in a positive direction! What's your experience? What keeps you from just following through on your entrepreneurial idea?


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