The definition of counterintuitive is “contrary to what common sense would suggest”. It’s also the topic of this blog post about business and the economy. I first heard the term, in the context of the current economy, at my annual corporate meeting with my lawyer and C.P.A. I raised some concerns about the economy and advertising during this time and my lawyer, an older gentleman and the head of a massive law firm, suggested that advertising now, although counterintuitive, is the right course of action. It struck a chord with me and wanted to share these insights with you.
“contrary to what common sense would suggest”
Many people right now are pulling their punches so-to-speak by eliminating advertising, and stopping web development efforts. While it’s important to maintain perspective and keep your business afloat, it’s unwise to think that cutting out such expenses entirely is going to help in the long run. You have to keep the end-game in your mind — when you emerge (and you will) from this down-turned economy where do you want to be? Do you want your business to be frail and gaunt basically unable to fight, or do you want to be strong and fortified having taken advantage of the situation?
This economy provides many new opportunities for up-and-coming and the mature business. For instance, up-and-coming businesses have an opportunity to hire sincere talent in the huge pool of available candidates. Mature businesses have opportunities to re-evaluate their existing employees. Both, have an opportunity to examine their vendor relationships and get more for their money, after all your vendors are looking to maintain their existing customers as well. Overall you are going to find that this economy is an excellent time to get more bang-for-your-buck.
Getting back to advertising and web development, it’s a great time to start or continue both. Companies like mine are offering more incentives, getting creative when it comes to financing, and finding budget conscience solutions. Why not take advantage of the innovation and get your website back up to par or start an advertising campaign? You’ll be happy that you did because MANY of your competitors won’t. They be scaling everything back waiting for the bottom to drop out and all hell break loose. On the other hand, you’ll be breaking out and gaining new momentum. Your advertising will be more effective and your website produce better results with less competition.
Unless your the company that’s been bottom-feeding for many years this is probably sounding like good news. The poor S.O.B’s that have been grabbing the low-hanging-fruit making marginal profits might just wither away while you are standing strong because of your convictions and desire to provide a quality service. It’s your time to shine. If you are even reading this you are likely a customer and if you are an EPhost customer you’ve surely come to be because you recognize the value behind a helpful web hosting company.
If you think that customers are not buying right now you would be wrong. Customer’s are buying– just take a trip down to the mall or the Apple store. Like you, customer’s are simply seeking more quality-for-their-buck, and will buy from the company that can give them that. This includes business to business (B2B) shoppers as well. Businesses not only want, but still need to purchase supplies and equipment. If you can help them now, in this economy, you might have just earned a customer for life. Of course, they can’t buy from you if they don’t know that you exist which is why it’s important to advertise or rebuild/SEO your website.
There are many ways to cut-back without eliminating the few things that may get you more business. Cutting back on the things that can possibly EARN you more business doesn’t make sense. I am sure that a cold hard look at unneeded expenses will do the trick and balance the budget. You know, that extra telephone line, your sales person’s overly healthy per diem, or God forbid, going out for lunch everyday.
So while it may seem that advertising or spending money reworking your website is counterintuitive given today’s economy, it’s actually the right thing to invest your money in. Your business will thank you for it.
