Recession Spring Boarding - Your New Economy Customer

To all small business owners and entrepreneurs:

Know this, it's no longer business as usual.  The economic landscape has changed forever and it will never function again as it did in the pre-recession economy.  At least we should hope not!  Easy credit, over-valued real estate and dot com mindsets (a.k.a Wall Street) were the tailwinds of our most recent boom but within a zen-like flash, have become headwinds to a recovering economy.

Fundamentally, it's not only back to basics it's first a visit to the woodshed before heading back to the chalkboard.  The new millennium recession has exposed our misdeeds and has created the need for absolution through a new understanding of the consumer - your customer.

As bad as it has been, the recession does have a silver lining  - it allows us all to repent of our erring ways and focus on it's benefits. At the moment, lower interest rates, lower costs for labor, occupancy and other essential resources abound as small business nation attempts to wean itself from life-support.  And, while doing so, is beginning to recognize that effective collaboration with others is giving businesses of all persuasions a realistic chance of reinventing themselves.  New entrepreneurs in particular have a wonderful opportunity to capitalize on the recession's watershed flow.

Competitors of every type have been hit hard by the recession and many have been culled or diminished from every industry's monster list. Moreover, customers everywhere have developed a long list of suspects that they believe are responsible for their plight.  Woe to them!

Currently, opportunity is everywhere for those who dare to look for it. Obama incentives are available for the taking and the Small Business Administration (among others) is chipping away at the Main St. credit freeze. A liquidity thaw is in sight.

Angel investors, in particular, are anxious to to put their investments in play and reposition their support for the upcoming recovery. Venture capitalists, as usual, are vigilant for a "big bang."

With the stage being set for a full-fledged recovery the question becomes - when will it start for you?  

Now, is the only acceptable answer.  

The worst of the recession is over (unless something catastrophic suddenly pops) but as long as the job market continues to quake with aftershocks, consumer spending and investing will be conservatively slow and market adjustments will continue; fallout, however, will create more opportunities for the survivors as well as newcomers.

Caution is the word however, as these new opportunities must be recognized within the constraints of the markets new message - spending and investment has become more focused, held to a higher standard and will need to have a justifiable benefit tag attached to its "go" button before that button can be pushed. Ignoring this message could be fatal.

What to do is quite evident (that is, if you have been paying attention), simply be zealously empathetic to your market and customer base. Feel their pain.

Customers are still spending and investors are still investing but are extremely "value" conscious and believe it or not, want a social benefit to their transactions - now more than ever.  The most important one is the perception that they are understood and that their circumstances are appreciated, and more importantly, are actively addressed.  In other words, over-deliver the perceived benefit when the opportunity presents itself; and that opportunity should not wait on your customer to initiate it.

Begin your personalized recovery by declaring war on the ways of the old economy and those competitors who continue to practice them. Start by infusing the human touch throughout your existing or future business; convert from a low-touch transactional mindset to a commitment of relationship building - being there for your customer at all times. Embrace the human touch - real voices versus canned recordings or pitches.  Forget being all things to all people and convert the one stop shopping feature to a desirable relationship based, multi-stop experience emphasizing the "we really care about you" value strategy.

Remember, as hard as Wal-Mart types try to be a socially conscious mega-friend of the consumer they are still primarily "Price Houses" - money pits for the rich and famous of Wall Street and their trickle down partners.  Their numbers continue to grow from necessity driven behavior (low prices) as opposed to discretionary consumerism (quality & value). And therein lies their weakness - the commoditizing of the customer - and your opportunity.

Recovery success depends on small business nation's ability to reinvent and renew its pledge to the customer - "We (I) really do care" - and how it's delivered.

When this message is embraced by your customer and related markets, you possess the ability to become their latest love child. Customer empathy and understanding works and is a pathway to building trust.  

Trust is the post-recessions little darling and once earned it invariably leads to businesses most coveted offspring - Loyalty.

Loyalty is the most beloved virtue in the goodwill value chain and it reinforces the trust-lock with your customer, market and staff.  Don't beguile yourself by leading with coupons, generous discounts or contests to express or sustain your loyalty factor.  These tactics are only supporting characters within the larger trust and loyalty model and are ephemeral by nature.  

Lead by relentlessly employing the high-touch, "I care" message to attract and maintain today's post-recession customer.  Stop dating your customer and get serious about the relationship.

Build your business on acceptance and understanding.  Create trust, loyalty and integrity by connecting to your customer's core values and standards. Don't be afraid to "culturalize" these virtues into your ventures philosophy and purpose.  

Don't delay, partner up with your customer now, treat them like family and build their trust with a new post-recession motto - "get more, keep more, by doing more" - for your customer.  It's time to prepare for and create your own recovery, a recovery that is engineered to last.