Business Toolkit | Ten things you need to weather any economic storm
With continued woes in the housing market, slowing economic growth and a weakening dollar, the US economy is hitting hard times and long-term trends don't look good. Couple this with the fact that nearly six out of ten new businesses fail before their fifth year and you've got to wonder "What can I do to improve my odds of long term business success?"
Here are 10 items you should have in your toolkit….just in case the economy tanks and you want to avoid going down with it.
1. GPS System. You’ll need this before you begin your business journey so you end up close to where you intended and don’t get distracted by detours and pit stops along the way. Your roadmap should include not just your destination but all the reasons why you started the journey.
2. Noise Cancelling Headphones. These will help make sure you’re actively listening to customers and are not distracted by outside noise. We must be wary of preconceived notions we all possess telling us what we assume our customers need and want.
3. A Cell Phone. This ubiquitous tool will help to ensure you are constantly communicating with customers, partners and mentors throughout the trip. You can never have too strong a communication loop between you and those individuals who support your business. Studies show it can cost up to 5 times the amount of money to bring in new customers as it costs to retain good ones. Customers don’t expect perfection, but they do expect courtesy and empathy from you when things go well and especially when things go awry.
4. Rearview Mirror. This will help you see what’s behind you, including factors out of your control such as economic and industry regulation changes as well as competitors.
5. Easel and Paintbrush. These will help you illustrate your benefits to potential customers, partners, employees and anybody else who needs to clearly understand the value you provide. Customers buy benefits, not features. You must be able to paint a strong picture for them addressing these benefits to capture their attention and convert them into customers.
6. Rechargeable Batteries. Whether your batteries come in the form of a three-mile jog around the neighborhood, a yoga class or grabbing a glass of wine with a friend, make sure you’ve got “your battery” tucked away and ready to use.
7. Magnifying Glass. This will help you study your customers’ demographics, buying patterns and other information you’ve collected to ensure you’re meeting their needs as these evolve with the changing business climate.
8. Measuring Tape. This will allow you to continually measure and evaluate your customers’ value to your organization. Just as the animals concluded at the end of George Orwell’s book Animal Farm, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others,” the same might be true about your customers. Some might provide greater value to you than others.
9. Cash. Green-backs always come in handy, regardless of the economic environment. Make sure you know how much money it’s going to take to ramp up your business and keep it running, in good times as well as bad.
10. A Few Friendly Ghosts. I’m not referring to Casper but to those intangibles that motivated you to start your business in the first place — vision, passion and a belief in what you’re trying to achieve. While you may not be able to touch or feel them, they are critical parts of your toolkit because without them you may as well close shop and find a job working for somebody else.
Beth Goldstein is the author of The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Toolkit and can be reached at BethG@m-edge.com or at 508-893-0976.
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