How to Maintain Sales Revenue in the Great Recession

The goal of every business is to maintain net income during the Great Recession. Yet, that goal may seem impossible to achieve when your patrons are spending less, in general, and cutting back on discretionary spending, in particular. What Marketing and sales strategy should you use to maintain, or even increase, your net income during the current economic contraction?

Sales are not down everywhere

First, let’s dispel the notion that business sales are down in every category and market. Even in the hard-hit-hospitality industry, venerable McDonald’s actually saw an overall sales increase in 2009. So let’s explore what sets those businesses that can increase sales in this economy apart from others that are floundering.

Get into your patrons’ heads

Any successful marketing or sales strategy depends on understanding how your patrons (your customers, clients, or patients) in your target market think. So crafting a successful sales strategy for our current economic situation must start with understanding what your target patrons are thinking under these conditions.

Most patrons (and small and mid-size businesses) currently have an outlook best described as siege mentality.  They’re listening to the bad news of the highest unemployment levels in more than a quarter-century, the actions banks are taking that further restrict credit and seeing the effects of the downturn on their friends, patrons and colleagues.

How patrons behave in a recession 

Personally, your patrons may fear the imminent loss of their jobs, may be working fewer hours or may have had their limits recently lowered or interest rates raised on their credit cards.

In response to these internal and external pressures, consumers typically begin hoarding cash, cutting back on discretionary purchases (ranging from entertainment to regular dental examinations) and reducing the dollar amount spent to buy necessities (such as buying a half tank of gas instead of filling up).

Even if some of your patrons are not personally affected, they will usually avoid conspicuous consumption and high-dollar purchases to avoid alienating their peer group during tough economic times.

So the key to maintaining your sales revenue and profitability during the economic downturn is understanding what your patrons are thinking, how that thinking changes their buying behavior and adjusting your marketing strategy to meet their new needs accordingly.

Next time, I’ll share how to use your new insight to create some recession-busting business strategies that will help you maintain, and even grow, your sales in the Great Recession.

Now that you understand your patrons’ current outlook, what should be your business strategy? Share yours with me at results@edgecenter.info

Suzanne Harper is the executive coach and business growth consultant at the EDGE Center. Learn more at www.edgecenter.info