What Can You Do During the Recession?
The long weekend during the Easter holiday was very refreshing. At least I had the time to play with my children and read through some of long outstanding books.
Everyday without fail we will see news on the recession and the effects to our lives. It is quite depressing witnessing all these. However, we should not take it lying down. Instead, there are many things we can do. So, what can you do during the recession?
1. Go back to education
During the low period, it is best to re-educate ourselves about the business. During our normal busy time, education is normally set to the back of the mind. There is just not enough time for education. Therefore, it is best to take the opportunity now when you have so much time to pick up some educations related to your business.
2. Revisit your leads and potential customers
With more time, it is worthwhile to revisit previous leads that did not purchase from you in the past. You can reconnect back with people who left you their contact information. You can also revisit your past customers just to show some attentions. Many times just a simple hello would remind the customers that it is time for them to buy something extra from your business.
3. Provide extra services
During the down time, it is also a good idea to provide extra services for your customers when they order. Apart from feeling happy, this additional extra can serve as an introduction to other products or services that the customers do not usually buy from you. By doing this, the customers have a chance to try out the products/services. Besides, providing the extra services, it also serves as increase in perceived value of your offerings.
4. Explore new ways of selling and new markets for your products & services
You can also use the time to explore new ways of selling. Alternatively you can also explore new markets. These could be areas that you don’t normally consider as your natural markets. Feel free to explore as you have all the time now.
5. Get active in community and services organizations
Being involved in community organization is a noble act. There is no shortage of organizations that we can join and volunteer our time and efforts. There are also services organizations around that need our involvement. Examples of services organizations are Rotary Club, Lion’s Club, Kiwanis, etc. Apart from contributing to society, we also have a chance to bring our business name to the attention of other professionals and the industry just by being around the people from the same or different organizations.
6. Offer free samples of products or free trials of services
This is related to point 3 above on providing extra service. The concept is very similar. By exposing your customers or prospects to free samples or free trials, it increases the familiarity which eventually will lead to sales. We always like to get what we are familiar with. With this understanding, the more people are familiar with your offerings the more they will buy from you.
7. Take part in networking session
Having more time during the recession, you can also join various networking sessions in town. For example, the city chamber of commerce, your religious organizations, alumni associations, breakfast club, etc. Just by being in front of other people, your business and brand will be more noticeable which will lead to familiarity. All these are related to public relation efforts for the business.
8. Form mastermind group with the successful people
There was a saying that what you are earning now is the reflection of the earnings of your ten closest friends. With this, it is very important to decide your ten closest friends. Therefore, it is a good idea to form a mastermind group. And the main criteria, the members of the mastermind group ought to be successful people. We are not being arrogant here, but the purpose of the group is to support and create opportunities for each other.
9. Pick up your hobby or sports you have been ignoring
You can pick up hobby or sports that you have been putting aside due to time constraint in the past. Building a healthy body will in turn create a healthy mind.
10. Build better bonding with your family & people around you
With all the extra time, it is also crucial to build better bonding with family members and people close to you. This is also a beneficial future investment. One of my motivations to build a successful business is for my family to enjoy together the fruit of the success. Therefore, I would put this near the top of my priority list.
11. Sit back, relax and recharge your energy to prepare for the rebound
Of course the easiest is to sit back, relax and recharge your energy. You always have to remember to recharge and let your body have enough rest. What is the point of having all the money without the good health to enjoy all the wealth? Health is more important than health in this matter.
12. Stay positive
Finally, you must stay positive. Although you will see all the news everyday about how bad the economy is doing, it is very crucial to always stay positive. We don’t want to be positive without reason also. Therefore, it is good to find reasons to be positive. Being alive and healthy are good enough reasons to be thankful to the universe and to stay positive.
With all these points, I hope you can weather the recession storm hovering over the whole world. These are some ideas I think I would do during this depressing period.
