By Tony Thomas
My role at Contractor Rewards is to present the program concept to potential sponsors and help these executives determine if this initiative is a fit with their long-term strategies.
I’m lucky to have a job that brings me in contact with some of the most brilliant and optimistic professionals in business. I love marketers! Especially this week. With all of the dreary economic news, I listened to two VPs of marketing tell me they are getting aggressive and going after market share.
Both of these people are old enough to have gone through at least the last three recessions. Once you’ve had the challenge of working though an economic downturn, even deep ones, like after 9-11 or the ‘90-’91 recession (incidentally, both lasted less than a year before turning around,) you have a more positive outlook on business and generate ideas that capitalize on each situation. Live long enough and you realize this too shall pass.
For those reading this that may be freaking out a little, calm yourself with a little light reading from John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing: 7 Time-tested Ways to Dig Out from a Recession.
Note his number one strategy, “Partner with other businesses.” (That’s where Contractor Rewards shines!)
If you’re still in distress, read John Rosen’s piece at Stopwatch Marketing; Thriving in a Slowdown… then call us.
Tags: marketing in a downturn
Tony:
Thanks for the plug on my blog…and book! You’re right, of course: those of us old enough to have been through a recession or two know at least two things…A) this too shall pass and B) these are good times to go after your competition’s share. Remorselessly. Relentlessly.
John
[...] very good online thought along the same lines. Check out Drew McLellan (have you read his book?), Tony Thomas, Marc Babej and Tim Pollack, Tammi Lenski, John Quelch, Tom Asacker and Brad VanAuken, and John [...]