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How to Recession Proof your Business. Get back to basics

In a recession, people take a lot more time when considering a spending decision. One thing which helps them decide is if they are confident about the basics of a company they deal with. So it's essential we get brilliant at the basics.

REVIEW THE BASICS

The basics include answering the phone, sending an invoice, shipping a parcel, personal attitude. Make money and save money with the everyday simple no-brainer (but oh-so-easily-forgotten) stuff. Here's how.

1. Are you brilliant at the basics?

What happens when someone arrives at your offices, your factory or even your houseboat turned office? Can they find you? Can they park easily or are all the car-parking spots occupied by the sales team (who by the way ought to be out on the road)? Is reception welcoming or is that poor temp attempting to pack a box for courier collection and send a fax while giving your visitor a security badge? Is there a fresh newspaper or has that been one of your cutbacks? Is their host on time? Is he/she upbeat, or complaining about this recession? Is the meeting room partly a storeroom with boxes and trailing wires from the video-conference machine? Is the coffee an apology? Have the corporate brochures run out? Are there towels in the wash-rooms? It's all basic stuff but so easy to neglect. Make a 'mystery shopper' visit to your place. Ring in, visit, try to park, try to order. Detail an action list and act on it. It's a low budget way of making a huge difference.

2. Promote what you do all the time, every time

Take a look at the bottom of one of your emails. No doubt there's some legal stuff, probably some telephone numbers. But does it sell for you? Does it tell the person who receives that email about everything you do and how they can find more information? No, because they know you - you think. They don't actually - customers are surprisingly blinkered; they buy one thing and then go elsewhere for something else which is actually in one of your product ranges that they don't even know about. Put a snappy buyline on the bottom of your email and have a link to your web site. Change those end of email promotions regularly. Have interesting PR snippets on the wall in reception. Display your products. Use the back of your business cards to explain what you do and/or why you are special. Not just The Wizard Cafe (on the front), but (on the back) 'We cook the best sausages in town: join us any morning from 6.30 for a great British breakfast'. Take every opportunity to sell the sizzle.

3. Who's tracking the money?

Who gets the cheques into the bank account immediately? Lunchtime would do nicely - yes I know there's a queue, but it's also reducing our overdraft. Is there a carefully managed purchase order system? Are there expenses guidelines? Are expenses submitted regularly, checked and if necessary queried? Are invoices sent immediately? Are they checked to ensure they won't be returned because of a silly mistake? Are they sent out first class? Are there departmental budgets, and who monitors them? Ask your bank's business adviser how she would save money in your business without spending more money with the bank. Have you sorted on-line banking so you can manage your account(s) and further reduce charges?

4. What does your web site say to the world?

You know very well it's a busy, busy world out there. More so in recessionary times, and in times of financial hardship people are often a little stressed as well. So, once they have decided to find out about you by looking at your site, is it a straightforward experience or do they have to wait for a clutter of clever graphics to load? Can they find your phone number in seconds? ... An overview of your products? ... An address if they want to send you something? Make it easy to deal with you - even in the most traditional of businesses, your web site is increasingly how you are viewed. Check that everything, especially prices if revealed, is up-to-date and that you are being analysed properly on comparison tables.

5. Be resourceful!

Let's avoid the term 'positive thinking' here; after all things aren't always that positive if you are chasing cash and a good client has just gone bust. But do be resourceful, use resourceful language and don't reveal your problems to the world. If clients ask you how business is simply say 'good, though challenging'. They want your confidence, not your worries. Ask all team leaders in your organisation to talk up success and keep problems in perspective.


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