Ready to Grow Again?

If you haven’t restructured your staff (size as well as quality), redefined job responsibilities, analyzed the competition, cut expenses, identified new business opportunities within your infrastructure, and established a more aggressive marketing and prospecting plan you better get after it. Much of your competition didn’t survive this melee. That means greater market share for those who survived but you need to get in line for your share.

We’ve all heard about Chrysler and GM cutting thousands of dealers while positioning the remainder for less pain until business improves and huge profit opportunities once it does. Surviving Mortgage Bankers have seen a run to refinancing and are having a hard time processing the paperwork because of the demand. Even residential real estate is rebounding in some markets and many new sub-divisions have nothing but empty lots available as the homes have been scooped up. There’s good news on Wall Street and the commodities markets. These are future predictors. When paired with the Fed’s report that second half GDP is poised to grow and consumer confidence making a monumental jump in April...GET READY!

Your new and current customers will be expecting a different experience now. They have been forever effected by the economic trauma they endured. Prices will have to be more competitive, customer service expectations will be greater, products and packaging will need to be more cutting edge and make a better value statement, and the attitudes of all of your staff who comes in contact with a customer have to be happy and helpful. Kick sloppy and disinterested to the curb, it has no place in the “new economy”. Be prepared to defend against competition undercutting your prices with your long term clients, you are vulnerable, but so is your competition. The consumer expects the prices of everything to go down 20% and they are constantly fed proof that everything is cheaper. Deflation mandates that businesses become and stay “lean and mean”. Make the tough choices, after all it was you, the business owner, who absorbed most of the hit of the downturn while protecting your staff and vendors. Now it’s your turn to be paid back.