How to Effectively Prepare Your Business for Tough Times

 

Tough times can affect any business and often are out of our control. What do you do when the going gets rough? In recent years, we’ve all experienced issues in our business related to global events, such as the Coronavirus pandemic, or economic downturns. What’s happening ‘over there’ can hugely impact your small business here.

When times get tough, some businesses perish while others not only survive but thrive. You can get through it with flying colours too. The key is to prepare well.

When times get tough, some businesses perish while others not only survive but thrive. The key is to prepare well. #ToughTimes Share on X

 

What Can Happen and How Can It Affect You?

There are several things that can happen anywhere in the world and have (and may have already had) a direct effect on your business.

Economic Downturns. Economic difficulties can squeeze the market, your customers or you, forcing everyone to reevaluate how they spend money. Even an economic crash on the other side of the world can be felt locally. You’ll then have to figure out how to meet your customers’ changing needs while your budget is also strained.

Global Pandemic. In the last few years, we’ve all felt the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. People stayed home more, causing difficulties for small businesses and some closed their doors. Labour shortages and supply chain problems have also trickled down to small local businesses.

Climate Change. Weird weather patterns caused by climate change are already causing disruptions around the world. Even close to home, heatwaves, droughts and extreme temperatures have caused supply chain problems and economic hardship.

Cyberattacks. Cyberattacks are increasing at an alarming rate. No business, no matter how small, is totally safe. A major cyberattack could bring down a city’s power grid, which would cause many problems for businesses and individuals alike.

War. A conflict even in a far-flung part of the world can have a major impact on supply chains and the globalized economy. Look at the impact of the Ukrainian conflict.

Personal Problems. Tough times don’t come only from global pandemics and military conflicts. Health, financial or personal issues in your life or the lives of members of your family, could have a massive impact on your business.

 

Why You Need to Plan for Tough Times NOW

Many small business owners make the mistake of thinking that they’re safe for now. They know that these problems are on the horizon but figure they’ll cross that bridge when they come to it. After all, resources are already stretched now when times are good.

But once tough times strike, it’s already too late. This is why you need to start planning and developing strategies now that you can implement before the effects of a disaster are felt. Lay this groundwork and then it will be smooth sailing even when other businesses are struggling.

Start planning and developing strategies now that you can implement before the effects of a disaster are felt. #Planning #ToughTimes Share on X

Stay Positive

What makes the difference between businesses that perish during tough times, and ones that survive? It’s having the right attitude.

The right attitude to weather tough times is to stay positive. You have to meet the challenges with confidence and a success-oriented mind. Things might get tough and you may need to make some drastic changes, so you need to be optimistic about coming out thriving on the other side.

I talk about mindset in my blog The 5M’s of Marketing in terms of accepting that you need to promote your business consistently. A positive attitude also gives you motivation. You’ll need this to keep pushing forward when things get hard. It’s easy to give up when the challenges seem insurmountable.

One more reason you need a positive mindset is that it will help you cope effectively with stress. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed when things are rapidly changing. You should have some effective stress reduction strategies that work, which you can employ when the going gets rough.

You need a positive mindset to help you cope effectively with stress to succeed in tough times. #PositiveMindset #ToughTimes Share on X

 

Boost Your Brand

If your business has a memorable brand, this will help you sail through tough times. During a financial squeeze, customers have less to spend on products and services they need. They will stop buying from most but continue buying from brands that uniquely meet their needs and share their values.

You should work on your branding now when you have the resources.

• What do you want to be known for?
• How do your customers see your brand?
• What unique strengths and core values do they respond to?
• How do you stand out from the competition?

Answer the above questions and formulate this into a brand strategy. Use data from the market to create a strong brand. Reinforce these brand values during tough times and your audience will keep buying from you even when they’re in a pinch.

Reinforce your brand values during tough times and your audience will keep buying from you even when they’re in a pinch. #BrandValues #ToughTimes Share on X

 

Over-Deliver in Tough Times

Another thing that will help you succeed during tough times is to offer great value. If you consistently offer unbelievable value, there’s no reason for your customers to go anywhere else, even if a competitor offers similar goods and services for a lower price.

The best way to offer great value is to over-deliver. Gain an understanding of what your customers expect and go above and beyond. When you do this, you create a “wow” experience. The customer feels surprised and delighted and this will keep them buying from you.

How do you create this “wow” experience? There are several ways. One is to offer outstanding service, like free follow-up support or free shipping. Another is to give your audience unexpected freebies or access to paid products. Whatever you offer, make it a surprise with no strings attached and do it on a regular basis.

The best way to offer great value is to over-deliver. When you do this, you create a “wow” experience for your customers. #WowExperience Share on X

 

Provide the Right Help

You can provide even better service and value to your customers if you can help them out in this time of need. For example, some companies offered daily news updates on Covid-19 during the global pandemic. Is there any way you can offer support related to the problems they’re facing? Or help them save money or time?

Another way you can help during tough times is by providing diversion. When people are stressed out about things happening in the world, they need something fun and light to get their minds off it. Sometimes it’s as simple as being a willing listener as they talk through the issues they’re facing.

You can offer this kind of help by keeping in good communication with your audience and making sure you understand their needs. Find out what they’re going through and look for ways you can help.

Make sure you understand your audience's needs by keeping in good communication with them. #KeepCommunicating Share on X

 

Up Your Content Game

When times are tough, resources get pinched. This means you don’t have as much budget for going out and grabbing new customers. You may have to scale back your advertising and outbound marketing. However, you can mitigate this by increasing your inbound marketing.

The best inbound marketing strategy for the digital age is content marketing. With plenty of content published on a regular basis, you’ll keep attracting new customers to your business without needing the resources of outbound. This is a more effective and lower-cost alternative.

Also, remember to repurpose your content into different formats to reach different segments of your audience. There are lots of ways you can do this and you’ll find quite a few in this article.

How well do you know your customers? Spend some time gathering feedback so you know the issues and problems they face. Then, you can use your expertise to create content that helps them solve these issues. Create an editorial calendar and publish your content. Even when budgets tighten, you’ll have this material out there bringing in new leads.

Increase your inbound marketing in tough times by publishing content on a regular basis. #InboundMarketing #Content Share on X

 

How to Coast Right through Tough Times

Whether tough times have affected your business yet or not, it’s a certainty that they’re on their way. Be proactive and prepare and you’ll find it easy to keep your customers with you and come out thriving on the other side.

Are you worried about the tough times the future may bring? Stop worrying today and prepare your business so that it will not only survive but thrive in hard times. If you need help mastering your marketing in tough times then download our Report/Workbook to help you prepare.