Volatile Markets and What That Means For Your Company's Marketing

Buying some perfume duty free at the airport the other week from the most gracious sales assistant, turned out to be a reminder of why buying locally, is more expensive. I hopped on a British Airways flight and the same perfume was exactly half the price in the inflight shopping catalogue. Burnt - yet again!

The recent stockmarket turbulence is a warning to everyone. Pull your pants up, and keep you head laying low. While it may have wiped billions off company valuations on the stockmarket, there is a lot more bad news to come and if you don't think it will effect you - then you are in for a rude shock.

However, everything isn't doom and gloom. A weaker dollar and lower cost base can make small businesses more competitive. This week, I have cast an eye over my small business and put in place a strategy to lower costs of running the company, ensure that every person is aware what a downturn means to not only our business but to our valuable clients and in general worked out how to work more efficiently and effectively.

It's true, there will be no big purchases coming from the Marketing Eye office anytime soon.

From a marketing company's perspective that offers an affordable marketing solution to small business, it actually isn't the worse case scenario, having a market downturn. In fact, many mid-tier businesses cut people in their marketing departments and replace them with a Marketing Eye. An outsourced model, that is more accountable and less commitment and cost, is often a great alternative to not having marketing at all in an organisation. Even small business knows that if you place all your efforts into marketing in a downturn, you will reap results.

For the US, there is a lot to be concerned with. Our small business counterparts have increases in tax both business and personal to look forward to alongside increase in interest rates as the cost of borrowing money in the US will rise. It will be heavily dependent on how the Government supports small business in the next 2 years in the US, as it is a known fact that small business has led the US out of every recession, from the Great Depression until now.

Tips for Small Businesses:

1. Look at how you can cut costs in all aspects of your business including marketing. If you are spending money and not sure of what results you are getting, then take a deeper look into why you are doing it and if it is actually necessary to the overall bottom line of your business.

2. Stay calm.

3. Work out how your small business can run more effectively and efficiently.

4. Put your marketing strategy into place NOW. Don't wait for competitors to beat you to the finish line.

5. Capitalise on your unique selling proposition and make sure it is communicated to all your key stakeholders, clients and prospects.

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