With economic experts predicting a recession, it is crucial for startups to understand how to survive a recession so that they can put the right strategies in place. At a time when people are increasingly careful about their spending, only businesses that play their cards right will retain their customer base. One wrong move could send your customers running to your competitors.
Since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, the workforce has taken a massive hit with many people have lost their jobs. Only the most innovative brands were able to hang onto their customers at the height of the pandemic. After two years of uncertainty, the news of an impending recession has sent sales plummeting even further to an all-time low. Needless to say, people with small businesses are struggling to just stay afloat, and people are not getting paid on time.
Given that there are so many small businesses out there, how can all of them succeed? Depending on what type of business you have, there are ways that it can succeed even with a massive influx in the market.
If you are a startup founder or entrepreneur, you rely on incoming cash and daily cash flow in order for your business to survive. In order for that to happen, you need to figure out ways to maximize resources and perhaps use new services or tools to maximize efficiency while also supporting fellow businesses that you want to stay afloat as well.
At this time, it is important to find ways to stand out amidst all the talk of economic decline. At this point, a lot of media outlets are looking for ways to diversify their news and get away from all the doom and gloom. This is the perfect time for founders with stories worth telling.
How Pressfarm can help your brand to remain top of mind
By using Pressfarm, entrepreneurs can get a personalized PR strategy that will work for their brand. In addition to this, the experts at Pressfarm will equip you with a professional press release, some quality guest posts, and an eye-catching media kit. With this content, you can capture media attention and inspire your target audience.
On top of content creation, the team at Pressfarm also specializes in content distribution to put your brand story in front of the right audience. By submitting your content to the right media outlets and startup directories, Pressfarm can help you rank in relevant search results across different search directories. Finally, with your custom media lists, you can connect with 1 million+ journalists, bloggers, and influencers in your niche.
An affordable package from Pressfarm can help you earn valuable media coverage at a time when your brand needs it most.
How to survive a recession and help your startup thrive
1. BE CREATIVE in your sales/marketing
It is important to go where your customers are and connect with them in an authentic way if you want to retain them. Whether you are on social media or still going old-school, you need to make sure that they know how to interact with you during these uncertain times.
Social media is the best way to contact people, so if you don’t already have it, I suggest you get on it.
Find new opportunities to market and sell. This is also a good time to focus on the customers that you already have by providing the same service and getting repeat sales.
You should also figure out new ways to deliver your service or product that might be different from other businesses.
Generating publicity and sharing your story with the media through Pressfarm is one creative strategy as everyone stays glued to the headlines and news outlets.
2. Product or service IMPROVEMENTS
It is very possible that business is slow. This would be the perfect time to invest your time in working on projects that you have been putting off. Beyond the obvious advantages of improving your products, once your customers see that you’re still committed to offering them the best you have, they will be more invested in staying with you.
Figure out ways to improve your products and services so that you can be at the top of the market. Use the time to improve what already exists.
Focus on the thing that you were having trouble with before like social media marketing, IT, or any other niche function. These aspects of your business can drive your business so customers go straight to you rather than other businesses.
3. Adapting to a decentralized workforce
Many businesses are still having their employees work remotely from home. In fact, working remotely might be the new normal long after the effects of COVID-19 have blown over. However, there are many people who are working remotely for the first time. It is important to support your employees working from home if possible. After all, helping them save money on transport could go a long way towards offsetting their expenses. It is equally important to set expectations for your employees.
If you are a startup or business whose level of technology isn’t at its best, try and figure out a way to streamline it as quickly and affordably as possible. This will help employees who are working from home to do so efficiently.
Make sure you implement a formal agreement with your employees. This way, they will know what you expect of them. Make sure they understand that you expect their productivity to be the same whether they are in the office or not.
4. Show HUMANITY and UNDERSTAND what is going on
Don’t get so obsessed over how to survive a recession that you forget about the same customers who have helped your brand survive thus far. There are many companies that claim that they are good at CSR when they actually aren’t. Taking time to empathise with your customers will go a long way towards helping you retain their loyalty. For starters, you can offer them longer payment plans or discounts. If you cannot afford to do this, then consider setting up multiple tiers that make your products and services more affordable to customers with varying levels of disposable income.
In order to survive, it is important to know that there are other people suffering out there. Things are tough for everybody.
Try and have a reserve for your business that could help in times of need. Go out of your way to serve the community. Even the little things could help people in the long run.
Conclusion
Times have been tough for the last two and a half years, and they’re still looking grim. These tips can help you to maintain an income and survive during this time.
One thing that we must understand is that everyone is struggling through this situation. Everyone is wondering how to survive a recession. Whether it’s from a financial, personal, or social perspective, people are just trying to survive. So, while these ideas may help businesses, we all need to figure out how to also help each other.
We need to support each other and other businesses as well. As with all things in life, “this too shall pass.” With time, business will pick up again and things will stabilise. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that we fought through this together rather than succumbing to the common ideal of selfishness?
We need to help each other through this trying time and we will learn and grow from this.
What’s more, in addition to learning how to survive a recession, brands can leverage storytelling to connect with their customers emotionally.
Do you need help sharing a memorable brand story that the world will connect with during these trying times? Use Pressfarm’s database of over 1 million journalists across the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia to reach out to journalists in your industry. Alternatively, you can hire Pressfarm’s PR services for guaranteed Pressfarm coverage minus all the hard work.