Here’s the bad news: Many businesses will disappear over the course of this downturn.
Here’s the good news: Many businesses will grow over the course of this downturn. Many individuals will become millionaires. Many successful businesses will start up and even come to dominate their industry.
There is however, a major lesson to be learned in regards to how to be part of the “good news”: You need to stay alert and make frequent adjustments.
Two or three years ago in most industries you could confidently plot out a marketing strategy and stick to it knowing you could run it with perhaps minor adjustments for a year or longer.
The sales and marketing environment is now changing so rapidly it it is necessary to review the scene every few weeks.
We have charted five major changes in customer behavior since the start of the year alone. From “things are getting back to normal” to “we’re all going to die” to “I’ve got to do something, anything” to “I’d better hang on to my money” to “we’re all going to die!” to “I’d REALLY better watch what I spend.”
So: Stay alert and don’t give up. There’s always a way to deal with the changes. Sure, it’s not easy. But what worthwhile thing is?