There’s no getting away from it…2023 hasn’t exactly been the fuzzy post-covid boom of opportunity we were all hoping for. With the words ‘recession’ and ‘cost of living crisis’ dominating the headlines, it’s hard to ignore that 2023 has been a rough year so far for many, and continues to throw challenges our way.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Chief Economists’s Outlook report, weak global demand was seen as the biggest challenge for businesses to overcome in 2023, followed by the high cost of borrowing, high input costs and talent shortages. In response, economists predict businesses will respond by;
- Reducing costs by cutting operational expenses (86%)
- Reduce costs by laying off workers (78%)
- Optimise supply chains (77%)
So we’re going to be tasked (again!) with doing more with less people and less budget through efficiency. Ouch!
But this is not a negative post – we’re here to talk about opportunity.
Firstly, the situation may not be as bleak as many experts anticipated. Pwc, in their UK Economic Outlook for April 2023, predicts that the UK economy will avoid recession, but growth will remain slow:
“In our ‘subdued growth’ scenario we expected the UK economy to grow by 0.1% in 2023.
After a short period of economic turmoil, the UK economic outlook appears to be more positive, predictable and less uncertain. All of this is encouraging for businesses and consumers.” Pwc UK Economic Outlook – April 2023
Yes, times are tough and your budget and resource need to be working harder than ever, but it might just work to your advantage. Read on to find out how…
‘Out of adversity comes opportunity’
…The wise words of Benjamin Franklin, and still so relevant today. Seeing as 50% of the Fortune 500 were founded in times of crisis, why does a turbulent economy create such buoyant business opportunities alongside the obvious challenges?
As nice-to-have shifts to must-have, those who move with the market to innovate, offering a business critical solution can thrive. But how do you capitalise on this?
New market opportunities are appearing with every shift in buyer behaviour, but knowing how to act on them and capitalise takes more thought (think Uber in 2009, a reinvented solution to a known challenge). These opportunities are often centred around either making lives easier or cheaper (like AirBnB or Groupon in the financial crash), which often sees less flexible corporates lose out to more innovative and fast-acting newcomers. The corporate can cut-back and weather the storm of uncertainty, but the rising challengers will build a more compelling and relevant market proposition, which in the long run equals market shifting innovation and profitable growth, which the corporate struggles to catch (without acquisition).
Adopt an agile but measured approach
Whoever’s fastest with the solution will most likely prevail, but a considered, clear path to a profitable future is an important mindset, where unnatural growth can cause a boom and bust. The key is to pair go-to-market innovation with discipline and a cash-conservative mindset for a longer term, stable, successful business. If the market is competitive, the slower movers will not succeed, meaning those who act strategically have longer to innovate, find market fit and build consumer base.
It may be tempting to pull back and play it safe while you weather the storm, relying on tried and tested strategies because ‘you’ve always done things that way.’ However, the risk of doing nothing is to get left behind: External factors have the power to reinvent the market and change your direction whether you’re on board or not, like the app explosion, cloud emergence and online marketplace boom in 2008. Fail to act and you could find yourself operating in a dying space, where standing still is going backwards.
It’s down to focus and strategy – those who move fast in a considered direction will seize the opportunity. But this strategy doesn’t happen by chance, and to find the right option for you, you have to think critically.
It all starts with marketing
Marketing is essential to understanding your present and mapping the future direction. Whether it’s building an updated picture of your market or customer base, assessing emerging trends using digital data, re-positioning your products and services to better align to shifts, adapting to enter emerging markets, or diversifying your offer.
While there’s no silver bullet, taking a step back to objectively critique the status quo and revisit your go-to-market strategy is vital. This could just be your opportunity to reinvigorate your plans and drive the business in a better, more profitable and more future-proof direction.
It’s well documented that organisations who invest in a recession are the ones who will thrive in the aftermath. These organisations don’t stand still, they recognise they can’t keep doing the same things and pivot to embrace change with agility, objectivity and optimism. They don’t pull back, they just regroup and go again. Is your marketing ready to make that shift? If you’ve not reassessed then you’re risking falling further back in your market.
What are your plans to make 2023 your most successful yet?
Leverage the power of targeted expertise
We’ve been there, so we truly know what it takes to deliver.
Our highly-qualified team have held senior, strategic marketing positions, both in-house and agency side, and work with leading B2B businesses around the UK and across the world. We’re experts at crafting marketing strategies that get you where you need to be, and help you to focus objectively so that you can have the best year yet.
We’re strategic thinkers, but also hands on doers. We take the time to understand your business, your goals, your challenges and aspirations, then detail and deploy the right approach, using our knowledge of what works best in the market right now for businesses just like yours, and being outside the day-to-day of your business, you get a current and objective view.
And the best news? We’re taking bookings for 2023 strategy consultations now.
What does our strategy offer entail?
We’ll assess and then outline your current state of play, marketing alignment, product & brand strength and digital offer, among other essentials like your numbers, objectives, market opportunity etc, then provide a plan and recommendations aligned to your business goals to take you from where you are now, to where you need to be. You can then either action it in-house, knowing you have a fully researched and expert guided plan to follow, or we can help to deliver it, through our experienced team.
