Play A Different Game Than You Used To: Keep Pace With Your Environment
Posted by heatherrast on May 5th, 2009Tell Me Something I Don’t Know, Already.
The sentiment on the street remains cautious, conservative, and even scrappy. Businesses everywhere are feeling the shock waves which still reverberate from the crumbling financial and real estate empire which began 18 months ago. There’s no arguing that belts have been tightened, expense reports and expansion plans scrutinized, and sacrifices made in the interest of staying protected, controlling cash flow, and mitigating exposure/risk.
Yankelovich:
As consumers, we’ve felt the effects at the office, the pump, the check-out stand, and in our quarterly 401(k) statements (aside: yowza!).
What I’d like to explore, however, is how these times–these circumstances–are affecting business beyond defensive and reactive measures.
What Are You Gonna Do About It, Huh?
What are clever businesses doing offensively as a result of the current environment? What are they doing in an effort to conduct ‘business as usual’ and pursue share? Or are they focusing on maintaining existing customer bases?
Take That, Giant Sucking Sound!
Captian Clever Is Victorious!
I’ve found a few approaches I think are interesting. What have you seen by either a local, regional, or national brand that you think is a particularly compelling way of thumping the nose of economic pundits or extending a hand to consumers?
- Domino’s Capitol Hill campaign and “Big Taste Bailout” promotion
- Ford Advantage Program’s Job Loss Guarantee
- Walgreen’s “Take Care Recovery Plan” offering free health care
- Michigan homebuilder Allen Edwin’s “Peace of Mind” mortgage payment program
Tags: Consumer, Economy, Ingenuity, Reinvention, Strategy
