Are you adjusting your business model for the current economic conditions?

As the economic marketplace shifts it often makes sense to shift the products we offer, the price point and/or how we market our products/services to fit what’s going on out in the world we do business in.   When things tighten up people make purchasing decisions differently and are gradually shifting how they spend money.  What’s important and that helps them express and enhance their core values will continue to be important – and what isn’t necessarily a core value will tend to fall away.  

 

I have a good friend who’s sold Mary Kay for about 4.5 years and she’s finally made the decision to shift to a totally different kind of business.  My husband said, “Well, things are tight – women don’t have extra money to go out and buy cosmetics…”

 

I replied, “Are you kidding?  A woman who cares about her appearance will always find a way to look good and buy make-up.”

 

But she might give up something else like margueritas with her girlfriends once a month in favor of a fitness walk on the beach or in a pretty park with a good friend she wants to share time with.    She is spending a little less on that monthly party – but living more aligned with her core values towards a healthier lifestyle.

 

I’m making some small shifts in my business.  This summer I’ve been gradually creating products that appeal to a focus customer who has less discretionary income to spend.  I’ve been a marketing mentor for years and now I’m recording some of my content on downloadable audios.  It’s not the same customized service as mentoring that ties ideas together with my clients’ specific business and their talents and skills – however it does open the door to new ideas that a person may not have considered before and as those ideas from an audio download help them out they may eventually decide they DO want my one on one help and support.  This will be launched September 15th at EmpowerUAcademy.com  It’s not up yet – but it will be very exciting in a few weeks. 

 

Funny thing - this past spring when all the headlines were so gloom and doom in the news I was concerned with how it might impact my business.  Seemed like so many people were running around saying, “The sky is falling!  The sky is falling!!”  Add to that - I had several clients who had deaths in the family and other huge events that caused them to put their mentoring on hold for a little while – nothing to do with the economy – but my client roster did go down a little bit. 

 

Now that we’re in mid-August business seems to be picking up again.  There’s no doubt it’s been a challenging year for people in many sectors.  But the sky hasn’t fallen and people still recognize that they need help with marketing.  Amazing!  *wink*  People are realizing even if the news headlines about the economy are a bummer – if they’re going to have a successful business – they still need to learn how to market and get results and cash flow despite the gloomy predictions.  And I can help.  So, I’m actually feeling more confident about my the marketing mentoring clients I get than I did a couple months ago. 

 

All the best,

 

Denise Michaels

Author, “Testosterone-Free Marketing”

Marketing mentor, trainer and speaker

 

PS:  Visit me online at http://www.MentoringwithDenise.com  Follow me on Twitter: DeniseMM and I’m on Facebook as:  Denise Michaels.