Turn on the news these days and you are likely to hear about job layoffs, stock market plunges, and overall angst about the economic recession. The country's entrepreneurs, those starting and running the country's approximately 25 million small and medium-sized businesses, are certainly hearing this news, interacting with worried customers, and feeling the pinch of the hard times.
So who can blame them for being stressed? In many instances, entrepreneurs not only have their job on the line, but their life savings and personal pride wrapped up into their businesses as well.
Curt Clinkinbeard, a marketing consultant and training director for the Kansas-based nonprofit Foundation for the Advancement of Marketing Excellence in Entrepreneurs (FAMEE), has recently released a free electronic course entitled 8 Marketing Tips for Recession Stressed Entrepreneurs.
"My belief is that to be successful, entrepreneurs have to do everything they can to stay above the fray of national economic news, particularly anything that is negative," Clinkinbeard said. "To me, the hallmark of entrepreneurs is their optimism. When things are going bad, they have the intelligence, determination, and pure energy to go around or bust through challenges."
But after participating in the workshop sponsored by his local chamber of commerce, he recognized how challenged the participants were in his community. According to Clinkinbeard, strange questions from the businesses in attendance, as well as the media who interviewed him after the workshop, indicated to him that fear and pessimism were entering into the entrepreneurial community, which is typically more optimistic than most.
It was at this point that he decided to convert his short presentation and some of the questions posted at the workshop into a 10-part electronic course that could be provided at no cost to entrepreneurs.
"Our foundation provides a huge number of marketing tools including a book and workbook program and many electronic self-study courses through a free membership. We saw this course on marketing tips to survive a recession as a great addition, and extremely timely. If ever there is a time for this country's entrepreneurs to step up to the plate, it is now. If we can help even a few of them with just an idea or two, we have served our purpose."
When asked about the content of the course and some specific suggestions, Clinkinbeard said:
"There is nothing rocket science in the course. We make a case for staying above the pessimism, even if those discouraging feelings warranted, as fear makes people do dumb things in business. Part of the course looks at some counterintuitive suggestions, such as resisting the temptation to overly discount, and to actually look for opportunities to expand in the recession."
"As crazy as it sounds," Clinkinbeard contends, "sometimes when everyone else is zigging, it is the perfect time to zag."
The course also encourages entrepreneurs to go back to some key basics, such as staying close to customers. Not only does this help the company maximize those sales relationships and fend off competition, but also provides the greatest input, something entrepreneurs need badly in tough times.
"If the recession is hitting your customers harshly, it is extremely important for the company to increase the communication it has with them. This kind of listening and empathy can lead to significant innovation and changes that can benefit the company well past the recession. As hard as it is to believe, for those business owners who take on economic hardship in the right way, it really can create incredible opportunities."
More information about this free course and The FAMEE Foundation can be found at www.famee.org.
Source: http://www.missouribusiness.net/docs/mktng_relief_recession.asp
Online Request for SBDC Counseling
No comments:
Post a Comment