Making a negative a postive!

In today's economy there is a lot to look at in a negative light. Gas prices are through the roof, the economy is struggling to stay afloat, unemployment is on the rise, and businesses are starting to see a slow down. So what is positive about all of this?

It's what you make it out to be
It's very easy to sit back and complain about how bad things are, and most likely you will probably find a few people to join you in that discussion. However, it takes a motivated and passionate person to find the silver lining and use it to their advantage.

Lets take the gas prices for a minute. The price of gas is increasing across the country and around the world, so how can we spin this to be a positive? Well lets say you are a company that is able to allow your employees to work from home. You can send out an email about how "You're going green one step at a time" and talk about how this will help keep costs to your customers down and quality up. You've now let your customers know that you are a forward thinking company that cares not only about themselves but about the customer as well.

What if my customers are having a tougher time economically then we are?
Offer a discount. When you know your customers are trying to cut costs and save money wherever they can, make sure you are working with them to do this. Get on the phone, have a discussion and let them know you want to help them make it through this tough time. Sure you may not make as much on your markup, but you've just kept a good client and chances are when times get better they'll remember what you did for them.

There's nothing that says you have to charge more just to stay afloat. Sometimes cutting your profit margin, or offering your products/services a little differently can actually increase business, or at the very least keep things steady.

Remember: Work with your customers and you may find that things will start working for you.

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