Small business recession-proofing wisdom from John Jantsch

If anyone has a pulse on the small business market these days, it is John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing.  And I love this advice from a recent post on what to do in the current (dare we officially call it a) recession:

Some marketing experts may advise you to expand your marketing reach
when times are tough, but I believe the opposite is true. (In fact, the
only thing you should do in good times and bad is the right thing – bad
times just seem to have a way of getting your attention.)

The most effective strategy you can adopt now and in the future is to think narrow.

• Narrow your target market focus – define who makes an ideal customer and who doesn’t – serve only one of them
• Narrow your core marketing message – find a way to stand out to be different and build all of your lead activities around owning that difference, that word
• Narrow the gap between you and your customer –
  build community around your current customers, bring them into your
  marketing mix, ask them what they think, give them something they
  didn’t expect, help them get more of what they want, call them for no
  reason at all – and build through their referrals

If you can become known by a very narrow target market for doing
something very specifically unique in a way that your customers adore,
you will no longer compete on price and no longer live at the mercies
of the ups and downs beyond your control.

It is so common to panic in a tough economic climate.  But don’t forget it also provides enormous opportunities for growth for those that are willing to see them.  And if things are slow, it is a great time to get back to refreshing your strategy, building your infrastructure, documenting your systems, organizing your workspace and, as John said, refining your marketing message.  Then, when the good times come again, you will be ready for them.

Read the whole article here.