Be Resilient: Be Like the Cockroach!

Back in 2008, I was young, I was just starting off my career, and I had never experienced a recession as a working adult before.

I’ll never forget how it felt when the recession came. It was a mix of fear and anxiety, not knowing whether I could lose my job any day.

Lately I’ve seen a lot of talk about “recession proofing” your business. Now, I remain unconvinced there’s a single magic trick to protect your business from economic downturn for good...

But you know me! I’m an optimist!

There’s really great news to be had here: there are plenty of things we can do to prepare ourselves for hard times. And that’s what I want to focus on today!

I think every industry, every profession (every person, really) has a unique perspective on this. That being said, here’s what I have to share as a graphic designer and a business owner of ten years.

Working my first big girl job in 2008, right before the recession hit.

Nurture Momentum

It’s pretty well known that sales teams are often safer from layoffs than other departments. That’s because in times when the company is bleeding money, the sales people are bringing in fresh revenue. They’re your source of income. They’re your future. 

Marketing efforts work very similarly. Marketing puts you out in front of potential customers, drawing in new opportunities, helping you move forward. The investments you make in marketing today are going to transform your future.

The latest ROI Genome Intelligence Report found that of the brands that increased their marketing budgets in times of recession, over half of them saw growth in back to back years.

Remember, new business leads to new business— and that maxim holds up no matter the scale. Even if it feels like new business is just crawling in, it’s vital to nurture that momentum with a smart, consistent marketing strategy.

Turn Towards The Past

The lifetime value of a customer can be 20 to 30 times what you put in; But the reality is that advertising to new clients is more expensive than advertising to old ones, at least in the short term— and sometimes you just have to think short term.

In hard times, it is more than okay to on lean on these established partnerships— it’s why you have them! Over your years in business, you’ve built a chain of loyalty. This is exactly the right time to start relying on it. 

Gratitude is the way to go with past clients. Especially during hard times, people love to be reminded how valuable they are. Be earnest, thank them for their business, remind them how great your relationship is, and search for ways you can help them in the present day. Even if you aren’t exchanging business, strengthening that network is a way to brace yourself against hard times. 

Thanking clients has always been a priority for me, and if you know me you know that I’m always looking for unique ways to send thank you’s. However you do it, be sincere in your gratitude and you’ll nurture a real human connection.

Get Creative

One of the silver linings in a recession has to be how creative people get. I mean, just look at how many businesses have been started post-COVID! Last year, over 5 million businesses were started. 

But it isn’t just entrepreneurs who are innovating. Businesses are challenged to dig deep about how they can run things differently. 

In the wise words of Socrates, “to know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” (yes, I really just quoted Socrates). If your company knows that it needs to make some changes, start by taking stock. Know your marketing numbers, know what has been working in the past regarding engagement and conversion and strategy.

Invest in yourself and your team. Training programs, for instance, are shown to increase employee retention rates, but overall company health as well. Sometimes, it only takes a small, simple change to make a big difference. 

Keep up appearances

There’s this great Tik Tok I saw recently about this guy’s wife’s macaroon business. He shows the macaroons packed up in two different containers. One of them is this jar container with this cute branded sticker, and the macaroons each have a little dusting of nutmeg. And the others are just in a ziploc bag. 

The elevated packaging of the macaroons helps show their real value. I mean, imagine those are literally the best macaroons in the world, made from the world’s most talented Baker. How would you know they were that good if they were in a ziploc bag? For all you know, they come from the church ladies basement bake sale! (Absolutely no hate on the church ladies).

There is a cost to nicely packaging a product— you’re not doing it the cheapest way possible. But you’re going to be able to charge more, and make a larger ROI.

In times of trial, you may have to adjust your prices to meet the current economy; But you want to minimize that as much as you can. Just because the market has dropped doesn’t mean your product or service is suddenly less valuable. When you “keep up appearances” during hard times, you’re maintaining your perceived value. Whatever it is— your website, your branding, your package design— keep it looking sharp so that your customers know that your product is still as valuable as ever.

Hire a freelance graphic designer

I’ve mentioned how important your marketing efforts are— especially in times of trial— but I want to add to that. As I’ve mentioned before, businesses often have a marketing team but no formal graphic designer. Tons of time and effort is going into marketing strategies that deserve to be fully realized— but without a proper graphic designer on your hands, that strategy, and all that time and effort, easily goes to waste. 

Photo from Orange AF Photography

Over my sixteen years of working as a graphic designer, I’ve learned all a lot about how to save time and money with these things so that you can execute on strategy without sacrificing budget or quality. 

Did you know that printing black and white on colored paper— as opposed to printing in color— is a great way to save money on ink? Or that when you send direct mail, USPS requirements are going to affect how you make the most out of the ‘real estate’ you have? 

And on top of all this, a graphic designer is going to spend a fraction of the time putting together marketing collateral, as opposed to someone who isn’t familiar with design software. 

A good graphic designer will maximize any budget and keep you looking your best.

Always Improving…

What kinds of investments or changes have you put into your professional development or your own businesses over the years?

Like I said earlier, there’s no perfect fix for a recession, and we’re all just figuring this out together. I just know how powerful it is to share our unique perspectives with each other.