Buiness Strategy
The business environment you operate in has a significant impact on your strategy in business. This is true whether your business is operating during a weak, strong, or recessionary economy.
However, it is even more important to understand your business environment during a recession; which is a time when buyer power is stronger than ever, and business survival strategies need to be quickly developed and launched. Your business needs to change to survive; it can even thrive and grow during a recession providing your efforts are focused on recession marketing strategy planning.
A strategic business plan is typically written for a 5 year period, with annual updates and adaptations. Most small business owners did not foresee the current global economic conditions (actually most large and mid-size business owners did not seeing these conditions coming); therefore, the strategic business plans that were written in a different economic climate are not useful in today's recessionary economy.
To survive a recession, re-visit your small business plan:
• Is your vision statement still relevant? Do you need to revise it for the future you see ahead (although remember that a vision statement is typically a view of the future you would want for your business in the years ahead - it might not change that much).
• Re-define your priorities and re-develop your action plan. If you have available cash, this might be the time to buy new equipment that has been on your capital expenditures plan for two or three years in the future. It is likely that you will get a very good price on that equipment; you're in a good negotiating position right now. If cash flow is a serious issue for your business; what can you do to conserve cash? Does it mean canceling plans to add a new location or launch a new product? Does it mean laying-off staff if you think the business is going to shrink substantially (and if there's nothing you can do to turn it around)? Or consider whether now is the
However, it is even more important to understand your business environment during a recession; which is a time when buyer power is stronger than ever, and business survival strategies need to be quickly developed and launched. Your business needs to change to survive; it can even thrive and grow during a recession providing your efforts are focused on recession marketing strategy planning.
A strategic business plan is typically written for a 5 year period, with annual updates and adaptations. Most small business owners did not foresee the current global economic conditions (actually most large and mid-size business owners did not seeing these conditions coming); therefore, the strategic business plans that were written in a different economic climate are not useful in today's recessionary economy.
To survive a recession, re-visit your small business plan:
• Is your vision statement still relevant? Do you need to revise it for the future you see ahead (although remember that a vision statement is typically a view of the future you would want for your business in the years ahead - it might not change that much).
• Re-define your priorities and re-develop your action plan. If you have available cash, this might be the time to buy new equipment that has been on your capital expenditures plan for two or three years in the future. It is likely that you will get a very good price on that equipment; you're in a good negotiating position right now. If cash flow is a serious issue for your business; what can you do to conserve cash? Does it mean canceling plans to add a new location or launch a new product? Does it mean laying-off staff if you think the business is going to shrink substantially (and if there's nothing you can do to turn it around)? Or consider whether now is the