The coming year will be fun, adventure - filled and profitable for people who have their wits about them.

A number of small business owners are positioning themselves to overtake their much larger rivals.

Will one of those companies be yours?

Not many years ago, General Motors and Circuit City were the dominant players in their categories. Today they are both on their knees, having made the same mistakes:
1.      They took their fingers off the pulse of the customer.
When you believe your marketing pipeline will allow you to dictate what the customer will buy, you're in danger of being leapfrogged. In 1960, General Motors sold nearly 60 percent of all new cars. Today, even though Chevrolet maintains 4,200 dealerships, Toyota sells more cars than all 5 GM brands combined through just 1,400 locations. LESSON: Having the right product is more important than heritage and convenience.
 
2.      They quit taking risks.
When companies achieve success, they usually quit innovating and become guardians of the status quo. But yesterday's perfect processes are obsolete tomorrow. Vinyl records were replaced by 8-track tapes. 8-tracks were replaced by cassettes. Cassettes were replaced by CDs. And now CDs are being replaced by MP3 players. The same is happening with business practices. LESSON: Success, like failure, is a temporary condition. Never assume you've arrived.


The leaders are going into hunker-down mode. They're cutting back their advertising, assuming that everyone else will cut back as well.

When a leapfrogger sees a leader's brake lights, he hits the accelerator. Are you beginning to see what I meant when I said, "fun, adventure - filled and profitable?"
HERE ARE THE TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2009:
 
1.      Frivolous purchases are being delayed.
We're wearing our clothes longer and keeping the cars we've got. We'll buy what we need, but only after asking whether we really need it.
2.      We're buying fewer things but better things.
More attention is being paid to quality. Only the poorest are choosing by price alone. Information is king. Details are power. This is good news for the makers of better products.
3.      "Sustainable" is a concept that will grow in power for at least 10 years.
The lifestyle of the 80's and 90's was "upwardly mobile" and its leaders were marked by "conspicuous consumption." But the chosen lifestyle of the next generation will be "sustainable", meaning that we'll strive to live within our means and embrace practices that are environmentally responsible. - Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads
 

 

 

Ten Reasons to Stay the Ad Spending Course:

 

1.   You need to keep your customers and prospects informed of your business. Advertising is distributed information and a fundamental part of the business process.
2.   No better time to increase top-of-the-mind awareness as less aggressive advertisers leave the door open to consumer brand switching.
3.   Maintain market share. It is less expensive than trying to rebuild it later.
4.   Maintain share of voice.
·         If your competition trims ad budget you have an opportunity to attract competitor's customers.
·         If you trim and your competitor holds you risk becoming invisible in the marketplace.
5.   Studies show that increased spending in a slow economy leads to long-term profitability.
6.   Emotions will change often in the months ahead. Get close to your customers. Help restore consumer confidence.
·         Set new communication objectives
·         Confidence-building messages can help motivate consumers, and stimulate the economy.
7.   You can grow your TV budget by lowering operational costs. Use ePort and gain eBusiness efficiencies.
8.   Make new friends. Seek co-op partners from existing business relationships and inquire about new partnerships.
·         AEs can create shared advertising opportunities.
9.   You will find media bargains.
·         Take advantage of lower priced programs/dayparts.
·         Cut weight levels if necessary, but maintain or add weeks...keep your message out there.
·         Purchase opportunistically, scoop up "previously-owned" sponsorships.
·         Take advantage of new station platforms - digital channels, websites, mobile.
10.       The economy will improve. It always does. You will be positioned as a market leader to take advantage of the expansion.
 

 You're getting all kinds of advice on how to survive this recession. Some is sound. Some is silly.
 
It's been my good fortune to have lived through 15 recessions and one depression in my 84 years. Based on those experiences, I suggest you not only will survive but ultimately thrive if you practice the proper mix of these two recession "musts".

                               Realism
                               Optimism

   Reality is that we've been in recession since last December, even though it took the National Bureau of Economic Research a year to figure it out. That reality means that if you haven't already done so, you should tighten your belt as much as necessary.
 
   Optimism means you must understand that if you handle the problem properly, you can ride high on the wave of recovery and prosperity that follows every recession.
  
   Tightening your belt does not mean putting money under the mattress. It means spending only what is necessary on necessities and funneling what you can into the future. The sooner the better.
 
   That means investing now in everything worthwhile you can afford. New ideas of your own. New products. The best time to market anything new is during a recession.
 
   We planned and launched USA TODAY during the 16-month recession of 1981-82. Because it was a popular new product, it rode the recovery in the late '80's to become the nation's No. 1 newspaper.
 
   During the current recession, we opened the new NEWSEUM on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Because it is a popular new product, it will ride the recovery to become the No. 1  must-see attraction in the nation's capital.
 
   If you invest in the future in time of recession, the best of times are ahead of you. - Al Neuharth, USA Today Founder