In rugby, like most team sports, the coach has a basic decision to make when deciding how to play against a certain opposition. Do we play a defensive strategy, or an offensive one? The same applies in business, and especially now as we enter into this recession. Should you go conservative, or go for growth?
Truth is you should play a bit of both, but make sure you do the right things in the right order and not get stuck in one mode for too long. It makes good sense to play defensive at the start to ensure your business is as strong and stable as possible for the fight ahead. Continuing to do what you have always done and ignoring the “strength of the opposition” will likely find you out. You need to work on your weaknesses and fix any injuries you have, so you are not over-run in the first 10 minutes of the game ahead.
Once you have worked on some of the defensive issues, it is important not to stay in that mode for too long. Staying defensive, taking no risks and doing nothing will mean that the market and your competitors will pass you by. There will be opportunities that come up over the next little while, so you need to be ready to take advantage of them. Those companies that did that during the last recession came out stronger for it and returned to pre-recession levels of revenue and profit much faster than defence-focused companies.
I have summarised the list of suggested defensive and offensive strategies from Rod Anderson of Sandbox Marketing you should consider in your planning below. For help in prioritising what is right for your business and how to implement them, contact me here You can book a complementary recession strategy session and put a plan together to survive and then then thrive during this time.
DEFENSIVE STRATEGIES
- Plan for the worst
- Manage all expenses
- Right size your team
- Collect on all accounts
- Extend You Cash Runway
- Expand Operating Line of Credit
- Revise your Strategic Plan
- Protect your high value customers
- Sell off or discontinue services or divisions
- Last but not least, look after yourself
OFFENSIVE STRATEGIES
- Continue to hunt new business
- Close all sales that are “bird in the hand”
- Refine your Brand Marketing message
- Script how you communicate with clients and prospects
- Continue to Brand Market externally
- Continue to Brand Market internally
- Invest in R&D and Innovation
- Manage your pricing
- Drive the organization around the strategic plan
- Be truly entrepreneurial again