Business “don’ts” for difficult times
By John Forde

You can’t open a newspaper, flip on the television, or open an Internet page these days without seeing something about the current economic crisis.

When all the media trumpet the same tune, that’s supposed to indicate a trend reversal in the making. So does that mean we’ve hit bottom and things can only get better? Um… maybe not this time.

2009 probably WILL deliver a lot more rough stuff. Many, especially business owners, are at a loss for what to do to prepare for it.

BusinessWeek recently had some suggestions. And while I’m usually sceptical of populist media advice, these tips seem pretty sensible.

Here’s the “Cliffs Notes” version:

1. Don’t panic. You can’t sit still, but you also don’t want to swerve like a drunk on ice skates. Cycles happen. Sometimes they happen hard, but good times come back around eventually.

2. Cut fat, not muscle. And marketing is muscle. A slowdown is the ideal time to snatch up market share.

3. Don’t water down your sales message to “go wide.” When you’re desperate for customers, it’s easy to try widen your market appeal. Stick to your focus. Just get better at it.

4. Watch out for “discount training.” If you keep offering “special deals,” eventually the deals are no longer special. And all you’re doing is training your customers to learn to wait for the next deal instead of buying right now.

5. Don’t ignore the facts, just have a plan. You can’t wish away the economic crisis by ignoring it. Mention it to your employees, but do so in the context of showing leadership on how to get past it.