Business Growth Strategies for Surviving the US Recession

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Note to Publishers: You may publish this article in your newsletter, on your website, or other online or offline publications as long as the article content is not altered. Online the resource box must include an active link to the author?s provided URL. Notification of use of this article is appreciated, but not required. This article may be distributed on public or private sites. The author can be reached at www.andrebell.com/askandre/ for comments or questions.

On the first Friday of the new year Wall Street suffered dramatic falls. Weaker than expected job data and the sharp rise in the December unemployment rate heightened fears of a recession in the USA, the world's largest economy.

Technology behemoth Intel increased American market fears after Intel fell eight percent. Investors are fearful computer sales will lead a lag in overall corporate investment.

The head of OPEC predicted crude oil prices will remain high for at least another three months because of problems in Nigeria, Pakistan, and the credit crisis caused by the mortgage market collapse in the US.

On top of that, the Dow Jones fell to the worst three-day start to a year since the Great Depression in 1932.

Credit crisis, rising petroleum costs, and recession looming will lead to consumer spending hitting a significant slowdown too. All these problems prove the US economy is on shaky ground.

2008 will come to be known as the year of greatest turmoil and loss for small business. It will also become the year of greatest opportunity for companies that proactively implement business growth strategies that work, instead of sitting around hoping things will get better.

That's because the next 12 to 18 months will be a period of considerable change. Globalization, a softening U.S. economy, and increases in petroleum and energy costs will make remaining agile in competitive markets a challenge.

Only companies that have built high performance organizations that can react quickly to change will survive and prosper. A key to that survival is capitalizing on new marketing opportunities. It also means moving away from low-margin commodities.

Here are five questions that help determine if your company needs or should make adjustments:

1) Are you an independent professional, service business owner, or marketing director who wants to stop worrying about the future?

2) Would you like to increase the frequency, volume, and profit of each purchase from existing clients?

3) Would you like to attract more high quality leads and dramatically increase the number of leads converted to profitable paying clients?

4) Do you want to significantly boost referrals?

5) Would you like to stop clients leaving to competitors?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, now is the time to do something about it. In fact, the best defense is usually a strong offense.

Look for ways to change your business model to coincide with changes taking place in your marketplace and the global economy as a whole.

These adjustments to your current marketing processes will help improve overall profitability regardless of what is going on in the rest of the economy. There are three steps in all.

Step 1 - Evaluate And Diagnose Your Current Marketing Position

Step 2 - Implement A Proactive Marketing Action Plan

Step 3 - Track And Measure Results

In a nutshell make a complete assessment of your company's potential, determine where improvements can be made, then select practical and low or no expense strategies to strengthen your business model.

The coming recession doesn't have to be a case of 'doom and gloom' for your company. Even during the Great Depression there were companies that came out of the Depression and continued to prosper. How 2008 turns out for you and your company largely depends on the choices you make right now, early in the game as the new year gets underway.

HTML: Andre Bell is an Author and Business Growth Strategist. Visit his official site at www.AndreBell.com for a free copy of his new Business Growth Strategies Report.