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1 Review Your Market Focus
A precise marketing focus is essential for any successful business. In a recession it’s more important than ever. Review your focus. If necessary, narrow it. Review your sales and profit history. Where and how do you make your money? Which products are most successful? What do you specialize in? What do your best clients expect from you? Don’t broaden your focus. A recession isn’t the time to add new products and services. Concentrate on what you already do best and keeping the business you already have.

2 Reinforce Your Relationship With Your Best Customers
If you don’t know who your best customers are, find out quickly. In a recession, it could be difficult to gain new customers. Instead of spending money on new customer acquisition, spend it on sound customer retention. Find out what more your best customers expect from you. Where possible, provide it. Don’t guess, ask. If you can, visit your best clients to discuss their needs and how you can meet them.

3 Define Specific Marketing Targets
Competitors will contract and even fail during a recession. They’ll leave customers who need attention. Find out who they are and be ready to service them. They’ll also leave very able employees looking for work. Keep marketing in a recession. But make sure it’s very specific to the business you already have and wish to keep and to similar new business you want to obtain. Spend no money on “broad” or “general” marketing.

4 Create A Service “Edge”
How can you improve the quality of service that you offer? What can you do to make dealing with your company the sort of memorable experience that customers will want to repeat? You may have to reduce your prices. So will your competitors. Prices fall in tough times. Being “the cheapest” or “most inexpensive” won’t differentiate your business. Outstanding customer service – absolutely outstanding, not just better customer service – will differentiate your business in the marketplace.

5 Avoid Chasing Shadows
In a recession, lots of well meaning friends and colleagues will offer advice. They’ll encourage you to “move into different markets” or “take advantage of other opportunities”. They’ll advise you to and try something new. If that means you stop doing the things you do well and move away from the things you’ve built your business on, ignore them. A recession isn’t the time to chase the shadows in unfamiliar markets.

Conclusion
Resist the temptation to line extend, increase your product range or start a drive for new customers. Yet that’s what lots of small-medium business owners and managers will try to do. Be different. Consolidate, survive, revive!

Leon Noone invites you to contact him on http://www.leonnoone.com where you can collect your free copy of his 42 page Special Report: “5 Proven Methods For Improving Employee Performance On The Job”. He’s published books on staff selection and team development as well as various video, text/audio and self instruction programs on selection, training, motivation and performance systems.