Six Business Principles to Never Forget in 2009

While there is no silver bullet for business success, there is no doubt that there are common guiding principles shared by successful businesses and entrepreneurs. In today’s turbulent and sometimes downright scary economic climate, marketers should remind themselves of the following principles each and every day.

1. Do More With Less

While this is not a concept you should only dust off in challenging times, now more than ever before this is a principle that should guide your decision-making. It is easier said than done, but if you look around your organization, your to-do list, your credit card statement or even your inbox, you will no doubt discover ways to get more done with less time, money, people or resources.

2. Stop Talking, Start Doing

If you are indecisive about taking action, whether it is launching a new initiative or changing marketing approach, it is in the long view of things that you are harmed more by inaction than incorrect action. So spend less time analyzing, stop staring at the spreadsheet that is riddled with assumptions, and just do it.

3. Be Bold But Not Reckless

After the economic collapse in late 2008, common sense would seem to dictate that you baton down the hatches, lay low and just ride out the next 12-24 months that everyone agrees is going to be a slow and hopeful recovery.

Instead; see this time period as an absolutely amazing opportunity to be innovative, aggressive, steal market share and grow as a company. Our goal is to leapfrog over our competition as we emerge from this admittedly brutal period.

But bold, not reckless. We are expanding in ways that are core to our business, building a sales force and aggressively engaging in business development. We are focusing intensely on efficiency and revenue growth, and trimming outside of this mantra.

4. Don’t Focus On Your Competitors

Don’t get me wrong; I am not suggesting that you lose sight of your competitors. However, I do believe that if you simply follow your competitors, at best you will be always one step behind, and at worst, you will follow them right off a cliff.

So look at your industry, your clients, your efficiency, your margins, your customer service, your growth plans, and maybe, just maybe, sneak a peek at your competitors when you just insist on taking a break.

5. Love Your Customers; No, Make Them Love You.

While this applies universally, I believe it is all the more important during these times to truly love your customer. Right now every cost is potentially evaluated, no matter if you sell to consumers, businesses or even the government.

Go out of your way to prove your value day in and day out. Retention rate is in no small part due to the fact that we are knowledgeable, accessible, and frankly, really darn awesome people. Our products are valuable, but our service is impossible to replace.

In a perfect world, your product would be such that your customers can’t live without you. With truly amazing service, however, your customers simply don’t want to live without you.

6. Be Positive

I am not suggesting that you should be blind to reality; if sales are down, they are down. It is important that you are positive and believe that you can effect change. If your sales is seeing sagging results, then attack the problem, make a plan, and execute it. It is not about talking the talk; there is an amazing intangible quality when you truly believe in the direction you are taking. It is infectious; and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I don’t mean to get too “The Secret” on anybody; if you head down the wrong path, it’s still the wrong path. But no matter what you do in business, or in life, an outlook of positivity, excitement and enthusiasm will sweeten victory, soften defeat, and make the process more enjoyable.

Source : The Internet
Md Hatta
019-3089268
hattabasir@gmail.com