[caption id="attachment_658" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Once upon a time, all was well with the world."]
[/caption]Once upon a time, tech start-ups talked about their "burn rates" a lot, as in, "How much money will we flame through before we get the next big round of funding?" Some of them had bubbled glass in offices for people who'd never completed the development of the product being funded. Delicious lunches and indoor soccer were not out of the question. Then the tech bust hit around 2000, for many start-ups signifying the beginning of... The End.
Fast forward to now. We're kind of deep in the latest recession, a Great One to be sure. Oh, perhaps we're swimming toward the surface now. But will business be the same as it was before the fall? Or is RESHAPING a more accurate term for what's ahead than RECOVERY alone?
Well, not ALL is not all fog and mystery. In a time when vSA staff is asked more days than not what WE see ahead, we're happy to talk about the reshaping (and that touch of recovery) that we, as marketers in the thick of it, are party to...
• Businesses moving forward with cautious optimism. Maybe not happy-ever-after-times, but better times are coming. Whether, in the lingo of economists, it’s V-shaped (quick), U-shaped (gradual) or W-shaped (another dip ahead) is unknown. However, we’ve likely hit bottom and are on the way back, however gradually, to prosperity.
• Marketers using the Web. We’re seeing a major surge of Web-related business coming in the door. Why not? People are going online to reach prospects quickly and efficiently. Whether creating an online catalog, interacting with customers or getting your Web site into Web 2.0 or beyond, it’s a smart place to start.
• Worn-out ways of doing business... flying out the window. Businesses are scrutinizing everything. Are the salespeople delivering the right message? Is the company even selling through the right channels? Does print advertising work at ALL for this company? Should the company focus on its stronger offerings and (gulp) scrap other products? Tough times create tough questions – as they should. We'll continue to see seismic shifts in businesses - from big mergers to dropped lines and brands, and even to more door closings - as well as hot new companies popping up like mushrooms.
• Speaking in an authentic voice to build relationships. In a rough environment, trust rules. Savvy marketers are building relationships with the people they need most. They’re using public relations, social marketing, sales conversion programs, and customized grassroots outreach.
• Executives, coming out of their back-office meetings to communicate new direction. And THAT is good news. Direction, after all, suggests movement. Reshaping, too.
