Recession-Proofing For The Future
Written by Author on July 11th, 2010Everyone in the country, and indeed around the world, will have experienced the latest global economic downturn in one way or another, either as a person or as a company operator. It might not have had a direct effect upon your own job or your individual earnings, but the knock-on result of businesses losing income will have influenced the financial situation of the wide majority of folks. It has been a very complicated problem with far reaching implications.
The actual recession now seems to be over, or is at the very least coming to an end, according to many economic experts. Although it might not yet be the moment to celebrate having survived the economic crisis, it should be a period to begin looking forward and planning for a future within a stable economy. It is time to seek some recession opportunities.
Firms of almost all sizes, trading in all kinds of marketplaces are no doubt going to need to alter their operations in view of the economic downturn. This may well be after legislation is introduced to more closely control and monitor the actions of worldwide monetary companies. Many firms will also be looking at ways to make themselves far more robust and able to withstand financial instability in the long term.
The Recent Recession
The recession of the early 21st century began in 2007 and slowly spread around the planet over the next few years. Numerous financial analysts credited the cause of the economic downturn to be the drop in the U.S. property market, which in turn impacted the value of financial products linked into real estate assets. The growth of the housing market up to that point had encouraged homeowners to refinance their primary homes in order to purchase second or third homes with a view to a long-term profit.
This fall in value then exposed the vulnerabilities of such a widespread system of credit contracts between global companies, especially when much of the system was being backed by subprime lenders who were fiscal risks. A basic lack of third-party control of the financial services market had allowed the development of a very complicated web of high-risk credit agreements that relied upon a thriving economy. Once the first debtors began to fall behind on payments, the entire house of cards was quick to come down.
The subsequent financial fallout saw many individuals lose their jobs as well as lose their homes, while many large, global organisations were forced out of business. Government authorities all over the world had to bring in sweeping financial programs to help their own banking systems, and even now certain first world countries are struggling to survive financially. Many consider it to have been the toughest economic period since the depression of the 1930s.
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The Impact on Business
It is probably reasonable to say that the recession had an impact on just about every enterprise around the globe. Particular business models will have been more able to adapt to the added financial strain than others however they will have nevertheless experienced an impact at some section of their operation. If any key supplier or a key customer goes out of business then that can have a negative impact upon your own enterprise.
Thousands of small and medium sized companies have been pressured out of business because of the recent economic collapse. Several of these situations will have been relatively basic; as the general public start to reduce their spending these types of businesses lose revenue, and since profit margins are often extremely slender in a competitive market place there was extremely little space to allow for this decline. It’s a simple case of supply and demand not meeting in the middle.
Other cases were not so clear cut. There were scenarios where one business in a long supply chain were unable to survive and the knock-on impact would push every company within that supply chain to the edge of bankruptcy. The companies which were able to survive have had to make incredibly hard choices to be sure they can survive the economic downturn.
Job losses have of course been a very delicate subject to the vast majority of us. It is believed that the present number of unemployed people in the UK is over 2.3 million (nearly 8% of the entire countries’ workforce), and many of these will have been victims of the global financial crisis. These kinds of job losses head to a larger decrease in typical spending, which leads to a further decrease in income for business.
The End of Recession
It does appear that the recession is on its way to an end though, and this can only be great news for business. Gross domestic product (GDP) saw a rise in the UK during the final quarter of 2009 and overall unemployment figures fell, both of which are signs of an economy that is recovering.
Industry experts at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have predicted that the UK financial system will actually shrink over the course of 2010 and Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England has spoken of the threat of wide-spread joblessness persisting. When added to the prospect of a new or even hung government coming into power in May 2010, in addition to the need to decrease an enormous fiscal deficit, the foreseeable future is certainly not set in stone.
This uncertainty may be utilised as an advantage however, and companies which are ready to take a few risks or that are prepared to adjust their operations to cater for a more wary target audience could be set to make good profits.
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Price Sensitivity
On the outside it may seem that the obvious technique to use whilst the economy is recovering is to raise your very own sales charges again to a point that offers your business some margin of comfort in relation to operating costs. As the market grows and consumers feel more secure in their jobs they will feel secure spending extra money, so price raises should be an easy thing for shoppers to take on.
Actually, many companies might find that they have to hold their selling prices as small as feasible due to the newly triggered price sensitivity amongst the general public. Many of us will have had to tighten our belts over the last couple of years, and just because the hardest of the recession seems to be over, we aren’t all ready to start spending freely again.
The term price sensitivity represents how important the factor of price is to consumers when they are purchasing a specific item. If a fairly large price change, for example increasing the price of a car by £1000, doesn’t provoke a big drop in demand for that product then the product is said to be price insensitive. If a relatively small change in price, say increasing the price of a car by only £100, does see a fall in demand then that item is price sensitive.
As a result, the market at large will have great interest in the costs of the things that they are purchasing. Several people will be looking out for deals for everyday items that they need, and particularly their grocery shopping. Many of these things are necessities however. When it comes to purchasing luxury items, such as televisions, cars and holidays, the price of the purchase is likely to be an much more important decision maker.
Firms will be in a position to take advantage of this by utilising special discounts and price promotions to lure new consumers into buying their items. Buyers will be a lot more likely than ever to move from their favored manufacturers if the price tag is right, and firms that offer the best priced products are likely to stand to profit from this. After these potential customers have become clients there is a good chance that they will stay faithful to their new product or service choice as the market rebounds further, which could lead to additional spending at the original prices.
One particular business has discovered that their website was an excellent means to engage with their consumers through the recession.
Financial Security
People’s awareness of the economy at large as well as how it impacts us all has significantly grown in light of the economic depression. Prior buying choices may well have been made with respect to the quality of the product and its price, but there is a fresh factor that consumers will be considering now.
Recession Proofing
Many companies have endured bankruptcy in the aftermath of recession. This has in turn has put thousands of shoppers in a really bad situation. As individuals look to reinvest money into financial savings and shareholdings they will like to know that the company they are investing in has some kind of protection against future recessions. This may simply be a case of managing the business with as little debt as possible, but anything at all that can be used to assure clients might be a fantastic selling point for a business.
Price Guarantees
One particular very noticeable feature of the recent economic downturn in the Uk was the sharp drop in the interest rate. Once this change had worked itself throughout the high street stores and fiscal services institutes many people discovered that they were either suffering as a consequence or reaping a financial advantage. Either way, it undoubtedly raised the profile of the effect that a changing interest rate can have on every day economic products.
Customers who are looking to open up new savings accounts or private pensions may be worried that if the economic downturn does in fact drag on for much longer they won’t be generating any considerable interest on their investments. Actually, the tough economy might still take a turn for the worst and interest rates could drop again. In this scenario, a savings product that provides a confirmed rate of return turns into a really appealing option. This method might be used to appeal to many new savings clients.
The same can be said for customers with credit agreements. If the recession is truly over and the global economy begins to recover much more swiftly than many anticipate, then it may not be too long before we see a growth in interest rates. That would signify that customers would have to pay much more every month for their mortgages and loans. A provider that can offer a secured rate of interest that isn’t linked to the base rate of interest can again entice many new clients.
A similar approach was used by a number of businesses after the rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) increased from 15% to 17.5% in early 2010. These companies would offer “price freezes” for their products for a specific time period in an attempt to keep their current customers and draw new clients in. This kind of price freeze granted a buffer period for individuals to adjust to the new VAT rate.
Conclusion
Whether the economic downturn is completely over yet or not, this has served as a firm reminder that no business can be complacent with its own position of success. Company managers must always seek to consolidate their position and improve their own operations wherever possible.
