Wot economic recession?

I don't really do Christmas or shopping. But I am watching what is happening with the economy for my clients and my own business in 2009. So, I was more than a little surprised to see the queues, lack of bargains and spending mania going on today in Kendal. Not what I had heard on the BBC news....

Retailers in small market towns, such as Kendal, seem to have it made. It was blatantly obvious today that the ONLY companies with bargains, sales, reductions etc were the national companies who are reacting on a national policy basis. "The following items are to be marked down, the following signs need to go on the windows etc" And Woolworths, who of course have their very own problems with administration etc.

The local companies are retailing at full bore with very few reductions being offered. After all, they already have a good brand reputation locally or they wouldn't still be on the high street. Their customers will continue coming in through the door - sales signs or not.

Boots, Morrisons, Comet etc all had sale signs up. Yet, those were the sales staff who were quick to say, "The Boxing Day sales start in just 3 days. If it's not a present for Xmas Day, you might want to consider waiting because the price on that will come down."

I thought this was really interesting. Here in Cumbria, only one local company I know of has gone to the wall recently with the loss of 30+ jobs, but the local rumour mill has it that it is unrelated to any recession.

But no-one else seems to be really suffering yet. The drop in mortgage rates has helped those who have low average earnings, which is typical for rural areas such as ours, not hindered them. So, spending is rife not restricted. The poultry sale the other night at the auction mart saw fresh 6kg turkeys being sold between £32 and £40+, and geese anywhere up to £60. No going to Asda, for a packed crowd who jostled for the birds even though they were anywhere up to 5 times or so what the supermarkets have been knocking them out at.

Was it just down to quality and the knowledge they were well bred, locally? I think so. I also think there is an innate understanding of the blue pound in rural economies. (Oh, and ignore Wikipedia, which whilst coming up first on Google for the term "blue pound", is way off the mark).

Blue pound refers to a theory that if a pound coin were stained blue and its progress was observed, we would see how much of our money spent 'locally' was actually benefiting the local economy. If the paint comes off on each person's hands as they touch it within the local spending community, how many people will have their hands dyed blue before this pound coin leaves the community for a national or international corporate? For the vitality and ressurection of communities, this phenomenon is SO important. If all your money is going out of the local economy, it is called the leaky bucket syndrome. If it is staying within the economy, it is creating local jobs, giving local people money to spend, and it invigorates local communities.

Let me put this really simply: it keeps alive the place where you live, keeps your neighbours and yourself in work, it ensures the future of your community. Think about where your blue pound goes every single time you open your purse or wallet. Is that pound leaving where you live and going into the coffers of a large corporate who will not be spending their profits on your doorstep? Then, to be honest, you are helping to destroy your community.

So, to return to the main point of this post, where is the business and marketing lesson in this? It has to be:
if you have a good relationship with your customers because you provide a good product, at a good price, all year round, and great customer service, you can survive a recession. Especially if you don't follow the rest of the sheep and cut prices to attract more sales. Either your product is great and worth the money, or you have your pricing structure wrong!

We are likely to see a large number of retail redundancies and bankruptcies during 2009 in the High street according to many financial analysts.

This could well to prove to be a good thing for those looking to re-establish the High Street as their domain, and to take Britain's high streets from being the 'same shops everywhere, homogenous' crap that we have seen developing and endured in some towns.

IF some of the larger names start vanishing from the High Street, there is a fantastic opportunity for local companies and smaller chains to move in and deliver the goods where there is maximum footfall. Obviously, as an Internet marketer, I have to apply what I know from there to this process so here's my thoughts for 2009 on how to maximise on the potential changes in every High Street in Britain.

* Build your loyal customer base online
* Have a great website, lots of content and product choice
* Keep up to date with your customers - email newsletters, autoresponders, competitions and so on
* Deliver the BEST customer service that you possibly can - use live chat, VoIP, and CRM to track what your customers are saying and doing and thinking, AND buying from you!
* Make the most of opportunities to take those online customers with you into your locality eg through bricks and mortar shops, which should start coming up for rent
* BUT ONLY if you can't make as much of the opportunity online as offline ie do you need local trade to grow? (eg a butcher) If not, consider bricks and mortar very carefully. A website may be the better choice for you.
* Build an exit strategy for bricks and mortar - 2-3 years or so because many of those behind the big names will be back and may well take you on. Be ready to get out before you end up like Woolies.
* Combine all your offline marketing and customer loyalty schemes tightly through your online presence
* Automate everything you can - from backend processes through to PPC reporting. For instance, do not spend precious time walking from one end of a building to another when you could put a wireless network and a Netbook at the other end (for about £2-300) and save time. (I can give 20 case studies off the top of my head right now on this sort of stuff that businesses do without thinking about the savings they could make if they just used technology!)

If you run a small to medium sized business, or are in a rural area, or are confused or worried about how you can make the most of 2009, why not post here and we'll help you out? Many minds make light work.