8 Tips to Keep your Business Thriving in a Recession

No small business owner wants to turn on the news and hear the word “recession”. However, even in times like these, there are still ways that you can succeed in your industry. Take the time to read our tips to keep your business thriving in a recession, then go try a few out for yourself!

1. Extra TLC to Existing Clients

Now is not the time to panic and fall behind in customer satisfaction. Be sure to keep close contact with all of your clients—and give some extra attention to your biggest ones. It is important to show your clients that you will still be valuable to them, since cutting costs is on everyone’s minds these days.

2. Cut Costs

Take the time to review your budget and see if there is any excessive spending going on. Are there any adjustments you can make to lower costs? If you use any suppliers, contact them to inquire about lower prices, or if you receive any services from other businesses you can contact them to see about lowering costs. This sort of thing is expected in a recession, so do not be afraid to cut costs any way you can.

3. Study Marketing

Take a look at your current marketing structure and see if there are any improvements to be made. If your answer was a quick “no,” then you are probably wrong, as there are always ways to make improvements in your marketing. Marketing campaigns can get quite expensive, and in times of a slow economy you want to make sure all of your marketing dollars are being spent properly.

4. Clean Up

Now is a great time to take care of any clutter in your business—both financial and physical. Organize your documents, take care of any delayed filings, and clean up the office. You may even find some old leads you forgot about that you could try to contact. Once this is done, it will be easier for you to step back and use some perspective to get a better idea of where you are and where you’re going.

5. Use the Internet

The Internet is a tool, and quite a powerful one. During a recession, it can be an even better resource because there are plenty of marketing opportunities online that are free. If you are not as computer savvy as some or simply don’t have the time, you could consider hiring an Internet marketing company to help.

6. Venture with Friends

Try contacting other businesses that have clients similar to yours and see if they might like to trade client recommendations. This is legal, ethical, and free, making it one of the best and easiest ways to promote your business.

7. Watch Payments

Pay particular attention to credit transactions and checks in times like these. We would all like to trust all of our clients to make payments on time, but the fact is they may not even know how low their own bank account balances are. To avoid losing money and time, be sure to keep good track of your clients and your cash to avoid the entire scenario.

8. Promote Your Best Areas

Do not even bother marketing or promoting your lowest selling area more than necessary. During a recession, vigorously promote your best-selling and most rewarding services. Then, once you have a client signed up, you can offer any extra services that you have if they’re interested.