The Keys To a Recession Proof B2B Business
By Anna Johnson on March 12th, 2009Is there such a thing as a recession proof, or at least a ‘recession resistant’, business-to-business (B2B) business (i.e. one that sells to other businesses)? Are there B2Bs that grow and profit regardless of whether the economy is booming or in a downturn?
Yes, there are, and it’s generally because of they meet their customers’ needs in both economic environments.
Depending on what kind of business you’re in, that can be easier said than done. But I recently heard someone (can’t remember who) really clarify what many business customers are focused on, which in turn, indicates what you need to be offering them:
- During a boom, B2B customers want to increase sales and are therfore looking for more ‘top line’ solutions – products and services that help them grow their sales.
- During a recession, B2Bs are more concerned with cutting costs to preserve profits as sales decline. Therefore, they’re looking for more ‘bottom line’ solutions.
You can see that if you all you offer are top line solutions – as advertising based companies do – you’ll struggle during an economic decline. Justified or not, your customers no longer see all their advertising as an investment and see at least some of it as a cost that needs to be cut.
On the other hand, if all you offer are cost-reduction solutions, you can miss out on opportunities during economic growth, when many companies are excited about ways to grow.
So, if you offer both top line and bottom line solutions, you are well placed during good times and bad.
