Bad News is Good News

I understand the need for us all to be properly informed and it’s a purpose which the media serves particularly well. However, we also need to be aware that the media is required to generate sales and it is rare that good news will achieve that.

Mark Miller from Miller Communications Group often relates the story of a young boy starting in the newspaper business running excitedly into his Editor’s office to say that he has a great story about a dog biting a man. The Editor turned to the Cadet and said something along the lines of: “That’s not news son…when a man bites a dog, that’s news!” And so, everyday ordinary news items are not really what the media aims to report on.

And we all need to keep this in mind when we constantly read, watch or hear about the doom and gloom surrounding the current economic crisis. I recently had a conversation with Allan Pease who is appearing as a keynote speaker in our recession busting seminar in August and Allan told me that he simply refuses to participate in this recession but if he was given more notice next time he would think about participating in it then. This is a great attitude to adopt.

Obviously, everybody is feeling the instability of the current economic climate in business. We all understand that we are not in boom times however I can say that every single one of my clients is either maintaining their market share or in some cases increasing it. This occurs by simply refusing to listen to the doom and gloom merchants and also by making sure that strategies are in place to deliver on exactly what your customers are looking for from your business.

Remember it is the basic things that are going to make a difference. By delivering phenomenal service, maintaining high standards on products or services and continuing to ensure that team members have a positive service outlook, we can rest assured at the very least of maintaining our current market position.

It is important to make sure that we address issues such as cash flow and to cut unnecessary expenses where possible but it is equally important to make sure that cutting expenses is not the sole focus of our business management strategy. Although there is a lot of uncertainty about the recession and our current economic climate, the one absolute certainty is that it will end and clear skies will return. Let’s make sure that when that happens we are all here to enjoy it.

Kind regards, Mark.