By Matt Massey, CEO drive2 Inc.
Recognizing that it's been quite some time since my last blog, admittedly drive2 has been busy – really busy, which has left me remiss in my blogging duties. That being said, I couldn't stay quiet any longer. Across the US and Canada, mainstream media is painting a bleak picture on the state of our economy. Now, I could go on about how mainstream media is perpetuating the downturn and lowering consumer confidence but that rant is best saved for another blog…
Yes, it's bad, really bad, but the reality is business hasn't stopped and why should it?
A few weeks ago, the CEO of a well-respected technology services company, asked me what my thoughts were on building demand and sales in the current economic "crisis". My question back to him was what to you do when the economy is blowing up around you?
He didn't have the answer, but I believe I may have a big part of the solution – you tell me.
There are two trains of thought in times of economic uncertainty; Duck and Cover, or Stand and Fight. Well, Duck and Cover has never been the solution to any problem unless you are an ostritch. Yes, conserving cash flow and avoiding major corporate expenditures are vital to maintaining the regular flow of business, but in the B2B world, this won't guarantee your survival.
Stand and Fight - To me, Stand and Fight means you need to get Aggressive, you need to get Dirty and you need to get Strategic.
Aggressive
Getting aggressive is about ramping up your marketing – not broad-based marketing spend, but aggressively pursuing your customer targets with much more emphasis on business development activities and minimizing new technology R&D. It's been proven that companies that get more aggressive during downturns and slow periods in business, realize significant gains when business starts to ramp up again, they are much further ahead than competitors that took the Duck and Cover approach.
Dirty
You know that old saying, there are NO FRIENDS IN BUSINESS, take that to heart. In the current economic situation, you will undoubtedly see allies and partners suddenly become very selfish and self serving and virtually disengage or even disappear overnight. If your company, technology or services are not recognized as "mission critical" you need to make it so. This is where demonstrating your business value beyond your technology or services is vital and making sure that key decision makers are fully aware of who you are and why you matter to their company. In some cases you may need to go above, under or around those people in a business that may be inhibiting your progress, that means stepping on a few toes, or in some cases knocking them over the head with a 2 X 4, but if your company's survival is dependent on getting a little (or a lot) dirty, just keep in mind that it's easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Keep that in mind if you're worried about making up with the people you knocked down in the process!
Strategic
Getting aggressive and getting dirty means also getting smart. Having a plan and executing flawlessly while minimizing distractions is integral to surviving. Here is your reality. Most SMEs are sub 500 headcount businesses. Most VC-backed technology firms are smaller, sub 100 employees, and that means that your relevance in the big, bad world of business is minimal at best. You need to plot a course that maximizes your exposure to as many key customer opportunities as possible, with a strategic plan to build demand quickly and effectively. With the downturn creating even longer sales cycles as business decisions are analyzed even more closely, you need to UP your engagement level and exposure throughout your target customer universe. This is where focused lead gen. and a solid demand creation model supported by an airtight marcomms infrastructure needs to be developed and honed to guarantee your survival.
My underlying message is don't stop marketing. Just get smarter and do what you need to do in order to guarantee your survival. It's a bit of a war zone out there right now, and usually the general with the best strategy, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, comes out a winner. History has proven that altruism, time and time again. Just keep your helmet on!
