November 2009 Surviving the Downturn
If you’re just hoping to “get through” this year’s financial crisis, you may be missing the bigger picture…
A recent report in the Harvard Business Review, stated that the brands that invested in innovation during the great Depression were the brands and organisations that emerged stronger. Bill Gates stated in the report “We’re in an economic downturn but an innovation upturn”.
I believe that the current economic situation gives us all an unexpected opportunity to take ourselves out of our comfort zones and identify the key activities required to innovate and integrate our brand and our business in a unique and innovative way.
So what is this unique opportunity I hear you ask?
Here are 4 questions to ask yourself about your business and 4 ways of starting to think outside your comfort zone!
1.
WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT?
The active ingredient in any brand is differentiation. If it’s not different, it’s not strategic. What can you do to increase your difference? How can you make your difference more meaningful and compelling?
2.
HOW WELL ARE YOU FOCUSSED?
Without focus, customers will have a hard time seeing your difference. What makes you the “only” in your category? Which of your offerings best support your point of difference?
3.
WHAT TREND ARE YOU RIDING?
Tomorrow’s economy will create new trends. What wave are you riding? Is it a wave that’s still forming, or one that’s already crashed on the shore? Is it possible to ride more than one trend at a time? What new trends are barely visible yet inevitable?
4.
ARE YOU COMMUNICATING CLEARLY?
Good strategy paired with poor messaging is no better than poor strategy. What messages are your customers hearing from you? Do all your brand stories add up to one big story? Is your big story clear enough and bold enough to earn a place in their minds?
If you can respond to these questions in a compelling manner, you’ll not only survive the recession, but also be in a stronger market position when the dust settles.
All it takes is the right kind of thinking.












November 2009 Surviving the Downturn

