The highs and lows of the real estate market aren’t easy to predict and can be interesting to watch. Since I’ve been watching, I thought I’d look at it from a different perspective… how it can help you prepare for a dip in business.
Here are some takeaways that can apply to your business marketing:
Don’t get comfortable
No matter how well your business is doing, continue marketing. A downturn in business is not the time to suddenly revamp your plan and start marketing. You’ll inevitably make different choices than you would normally and times of desperation don’t usually lead to good business decisions.
Keep expectations realistic
With the easy-money mortgage plans that were available, buying a home outside of one’s income level wasn’t a problem. But when it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Keep expectations in check, especially with your sales projections. If you’re not sure of the potential returns on your marketing strategy, be conservative until you can test a few tactics.
Don’t think you can time the market
You can’t always predict business lows or highs (except maybe for seasonal changes). Just plan for the long term and always have a backup plan if things don’t go your way.
Do your research
Before jumping on a seemingly hot trend or new marketing strategy, do some research. For that matter, research your customer as well. Client perceptions change and you should adapt to those changes.
Be strategic
Business is cyclical. Stick to your business plan and update your marketing plan every year. Don’t have one? Stop reading this and start one now—ideas written on a napkin are better than nothing. Also, record results of any tactics you do use, so you know which are duds and which bring results.
Your overall goal is to prepare during the highs to soften the lows. With this type of outlook, you should weather any business storm with confidence and, hopefully, a quick turnaround.
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