And I hope we’ll be planning for growth in 2012, rather than survival.  It’s that mindset that will help us pull free from the recession.

So what can the history books teach us and what trends should we look out for?

I’ve always said that the 2007 Crash has more in common with the Great Depression of the 1930s than with subsequent recessions, so I’ve looked back at things that happened post-depression to get a feel for what some of the top trends could be in the next 6 months.

1. People are looking for escape, so books, games and films are all popular.  As are gambling and drugs / alcohol (sadly).  We want a few minutes to relax and forget our troubles and it’s likely this will continue through the winter months and at least into Spring 2012
2. Health became increasingly important after the Depression, perhaps because of the subsistence diets which led to increased cases of scurvy, rickets and TB.  I suspect the same will be the case next year, as people witness more friends becoming ill through stress and worry; meaning they start to look after themselves better
3. People are already questioning their beliefs in democracy and the use of endless credit, with some looking for a simpler life where they live within their means and have a smaller impact on the environment.  Whilst there will be smaller numbers who take this to extremes, their influence on society as a whole shouldn’t be overlooked
4. Allotments and home-grown produce have boomed this year and I suspect this will continue.  As people begin to learn about the seasons and the higher nutritional values (and taste) of local produce, this trend may well continue into supporting local growers and a resurgence of the local markets that had lost ground to the convenience of the supermarkets
5. Make-do and mend and second-hand markets are likely to continue to thrive, as people realise they don’t have to buy new to get a great product and an even better deal.  Charity shops now compete on our high streets and no longer give clothes and goods away cheaply.  They now offer value and a feel-good factor in that you can save money and donate to a good cause at the same time.

If you can tap into these trends in your business, there should be plenty of opportunities for you.

The one trend I’m hoping isn’t repeated based on the 1930′s history is the Second World War; the reamament for which pulled us out of the Great Depression.  Let’s hope the government come up with a better plan than that one!

I must admit that for a time I wasn’t convinced myself, but I knew that if I told enough people who told enough people, it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  So I stuck to my guns and kept passing on the story.

And a few weeks ago, what do you know, I started to see the green shoots.  The sun started shining, people started spending money and my clients started reporting increased forward-order books.  We’ve even started spending ourselves – so we’re doing our bit (and I hope you are too).

You see…many people are better off than they were before the recession started, but they haven’t been spending.  The media have been drowning us in bad news for the past two years and we’ve started to believe them (heaven forbid).  All we need to continue the fight back from recession is confidence.  The money’s there – we just need to believe it as business owners.  And start chasing it again.  We need to stop discounting so heavily and bemoaning the financial situation – if you act like you’re out of recession, guess what, you will be!

There’s one caveat to this…don’t tell the banks.  They don’t deserve to know after what they did anyway, but we don’t want them scuppering us and putting interest rates back up and taking people’s spending money instead of it filtering into the business community.

Both Next and John Lewis posted great results a couple of months ago but, more recently, Poundland has also returned an increase in their annual profits.  Whilst this paints a confused picture, it seems there may be some patterns:

• Consumers are looking for value, but they only want to buy once.  So, they’re turning to brands such as Next and John Lewis and buying fewer, quality items that they know will last.
• For everyday staple items, such as cleaning products and toiletries, they are seeking out value.  Interestingly, the spokesman for Poundland said they’d seen the largest increase in sales of branded items – so people are still looking for the brands they trust – just at the best prices.
• Whilst people are spending less on meals out, the cinemas have been thriving.  The supermarkets have also been able to adapt to this trend with their ‘Eat in for £10′ offers and sales of the ‘Finest’ ranges within the larger food retailers have been strong.  It seems people are happy to spend a little more and treat themselves at home if they aren’t going out as often.
• There’s also an argument that customers feel slightly guilty for spending money when they perhaps should be saving, or for buying something frivolous when others are struggling.  As a result, it’s expected that promotions may shift to emphasising the ‘deserved treats’.

The key thing to remember is that customers are buying.  Many are better off as a result of the drop in interest rates, so they are spending – it’s just a case of where they’re spending.  And, if they’re not spending with you, perhaps now’s the time to look for some marketing advice.

Opportunities are out there for companies offering high quality products and services, but they might be slightly harder to reach – and you might have to be patient.  Donald Trump warns of the dangers of losing momentum, so what can you do to keep busy and ensure the income keeps flowing?

Our top ten sales & marketing tips are:

1. Spend your time on income-generating activities – sales / marketing / chasing bad debts etc. are all examples of jobs that bring in money.
2. Boost your sales and marketing activity. Now is the time to invest – especially if you’re still busy.  Autumn and winter will be upon us soon, so ensure you have sales and marketing programmed into your schedule, every day.
3. Put a system in place to chase bad debts.  Sending statements and calling people may mean you’re paid before others.  If it gets beyond that, we know a solicitor who’ll send a letter of claim for just £5 – this can be a very cost-effective way of ensuring you recover any outstanding debts.
4. Get busy.  If you’re quiet – but you’re still working 9-5, you need to work a bit harder.  Get out of your office and speak to people. Visit networking events and meet new contacts.  You can visit many of them for free – and you’ll be surprised who you may meet – and how willing people are to help.
5. Call old and nearly customers.  People who haven’t bought for a while can be a valuable source of sales.  How long is it since you spoke to your old customers?
6. Beware cutting your prices – this doesn’t usually work and just serves to cut your profits.  This means you have to sell many more products to just stand still and you probably won’t be able to increase your prices again for years.  It also devalues your whole industry, so do this only as a last resort.  (If you want to learn ways to maintain your prices, come along to one of our free marketing seminars.)
7. Offer good customer service.  This is often overlooked, but it’s incredibly important to your customers.  How could you add a ‘wow’ factor to your service and give people a reason to buy from you again?
8. Ensure you have an answerphone – with a great message.  You can’t afford to be missing any calls, at any time.  You’d be surprised how many businesses we speak to who want more customers but never answer their telephone.
9. Get back to people quickly.  If someone calls, makes and enquiry, requests a quote… you need to respond faster than your competitors.  If people want something, they generally want it yesterday, so keep on top of your paperwork.
10. Say thank you.  If someone gives you a piece of business, or recommends you, or does a great job for you, say ‘thank you’.  They’re two very tiny words, but they’re probably the most powerful two words in the English language.

Good Luck.  Work Hard.  And shout if you need any specific advice to generate more customers for your company.

According to a report by research analysts, Nielsen, champagne sales are up by 14% on 2009.  On the face of it, this appears to be great news for business – consumers are spending again and we can look forward to a recovery.  But when you look behind the numbers, there may be a slightly different story…

Whilst sales are up, the number of bottles sold are down slightly on 2009; reflecting the offers retailers have introduced.  Some supermarkets have been selling champagne for as little as £10 per bottle.  So, are consumers simply hunting for a bargain?

The marketing industry is watching customer behaviour very closely at the moment – it appears that consumers are being driven by quality and value for money, which may explain the champagne figures.  So what does this mean for your company?

• If customers are looking for quality, that’s what you need to offer
• People are hunting around and searching for bargains – but they want a quality offer too.  So you need to be competitive, but you should also sell the longevity of your product / service
• It seems people still want to party – the top selling champagne is Moet & Chandon, so people aren’t all buying the cheapest brand they can find.  They still want to impress their mates – so branding will continue to be important in 2010 as well

We’re not out of the woods yet, but stories like this hitting the major news headlines will help people feel they can maybe spend a little bit more.

But what does it mean for your business?

Tesco posted profits of £3.17 billion for 2009, but for the vast majority of British businesses, profits will be well below that level and many have sustained heavy losses in the last year; in terms of redundancies and customer / supplier losses.  So what can most businesses look forward to?

Recent information from the Chartered Institute of Marketing has been looking at how customers have changed with the recession.  They give trends to look out for, as follows…

• People are still wary of spending.  In spite of some customers being better off due to falls in interest rates, they are still watching their cash.
• That said, credit card borrowing is rising again, as we find the credit habit hard to beat (despite the fact that living beyond our means helped create the recession).
• DIY and ‘Make Do & Mend’ Trends are still popular
  
• Consumers seem to be hunting for value for money – both Next and John Lewis recently posted rising sales figures, although some other high street retailers are struggling.  It seems people are buying fewer items, but looking for quality and items that will last.  The question is whether this will be a long-term change in buying habits.

With these trends high in the minds of many consumers, your business needs to review its sales messages, as the country starts to recover.  Are you selling what people want?  Are you giving people the best value for money that you can?

There will be plenty of opportunities – you just to ensure you position your business to take advantage…

The industries most severely hit are expected to be public sector, defence and public administration, but it isn’t all bad news…

As is often the case, when public sector dips the private sector picks up, and the report also found employers in this sector expect to see staff numbers grow for the first time since the start of the recession.

The message behind this story is more about your marketing and your audience – who are your targets, and do you need to alter your approach (if you can) in 2010?

When the tragedy hit, I watched with interest from a marketing point of view.  I wondered how people would handle a crisis on this level when we were struggling here.  I was also interested to discover whether tragedies such as this may start to suffer from ‘white noise’, as they seem to be happening with increasing frequency.  (I was thrilled that my concerns were not realised and that we once again showed our generosity and desire to help people less fortunate than ourselves.)

Buoyed by this public support, the British government has trebled it’s assistance from £6m to £20m and dwarfed donations from other European countries; further bolstering the national effort.

So, what does this mean for your business?

The important thing is that Britons have a strong sense of justice and fairness.  We always support the underdogs and will assist others less fortunate than ourselves, even when we are struggling.  This trend seems to have been unaffected by the recession.

Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed an increasing trend towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ‘ethical marketing techniques’.  But many companies are simply giving this lip service because it seems to sell more products.  What has just happened in Haiti should signal a trend that our customers will support causes – interestingly; whilst organic product sales have fallen in the recession, fair trade sales have increased.

This is a trend which has increasing importance with your customers.  And it’s something you can use to bolster your marketing.  It will also give you a feel-good factor – as long as you do the right thing and don’t put greed ahead of ethics.

Here are our top three reasons NOT to reduce your prices:

• Cutting prices sends a message to your customers that you’re struggling
• The only result from cutting prices is a reduction in net profit, as your production costs usually do not change
• Customers don’t buy on price – they buy on value

Instead, why not consider increasing your prices?  Let’s say you have a product valued at £100 and you make £30 profit.  If you reduce your price to £90, you cut your profit to £20.  If you increase your prices instead, to £110, you make £40 profit – and you only need one of these customers to every two of the ‘cut-price’ customers.  So, you can give a better service too; which is likely to result in more customers.

Depending what’s happening in your industry, you may not be able to increase your prices,  but definitely think twice about cutting them.  And, if you do want to put them up, get some advice on how best to do it.

Christmas party bookings are coming in thick and fast, and it appears people are set to have a huge amount of fun this party season, after a tough year – so how can your company take advantage?

Here are just a few of our top tips:

1. Create a pre-Christmas offer to encourage sales before the holidays
2. Ensure your Christmas menus / products are out early (now at the latest)
3. Contact all the people who bought last Christmas and ask for their order
4. Send cards to all your customers and prospects thanking them for their business
5. Hold a Christmas party for your staff and your customers
6. Thank the people who referred you business this year

Some of these may sound like small details, but it really is the detail that counts.  And, if you don’t thank your customers, referrers and suppliers, someone else may well do next year.