Acting smart and raking in the moolah even during recession

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Bikky Khosla | 06 Oct, 2009
Market dynamics have changed considerably in the last few months. Although many SMEs went out of business owing to poor demand, several others have made huge profits. This disparity perhaps calls for a thorough look at the business module of one's business.

When our team of researchers tried to go to the root of this difference, wherein several companies reported losses while many reaped profits, we found that most of the companies who profited were relatively newer companies--the reasons being manifold.

Firstly, their marketing strategies were in accordance to the existing market realities. They knew what were the market requirements, products that were largely in demand, what customers wanted, and so on. On the base of these findings they molded their product lines and chose the markets where they could sell.

Secondly, since the newbies wanted to make a mark in their respective industry sector, they invested both time and money on branding and promotion of their products. While they found that traditional methods of promotion were not working, they went for cost-effective and relatively cheaper options to promote their products. For instance, most of the newer companies did their promotion via the web, mostly because they realised that the Internet had far more reach than any other media, be it print or electronic.

Thirdly, since newbies knew that they had to operate on ice-thin profit margins, they streamlined their operations and cut down largely on the liabilities and invested more on their assets.

Fourthly, relatively newer companies worked closely with their clients/ customers. They gave importance to their feedback and incorporated the changes required in their business accordingly.

In short, they acted intelligently, unlike old SMEs who made no changes in their business modules. Surprisingly, even several established companies sadly stuck to their age-old business strategies and lost out on several accounts. There were no efforts whatsoever on their part to promote their products and just played the waiting game; waiting for the customers to come to them - none came though. Perhaps complacency crept in and as they waited, many others profited at their cost.

Perhaps what we can conclude from these findings is that we need to keep an eye on the changing market trends and act accordingly. With cut-throat competition in the market, the waiting game has been rendered redundant. We will have to promote our product line vigorously in a medium which is effective, but not pinch our pockets hard. That is the mantra to success!