Thoughts on the Midterm Elections

I wish politics and business did not mix. They should be layered on top of one another with a very distinct stratification. But alas, we know that this is not the case, not in the real world anyway. The unfortunate part is that they go hand in hand in just about every facet of life. From the big lobbyists with millions of dollars down to the corner store’s campaign donation, politics, money and business are omnipresent.

Nowhere was this fact more prevalent than in the 2010 midterm elections. Various pundits continue to view the results through varying degrees of importance and through different prisms. Regardless of their analysis or opinions and regardless of where you personally stand on the issues or the powers that be, the elections were about simple economics more than anything else.

People need money. People need jobs. People need security. They have not found any of those over the course of the last two years. One can quickly blame the government, another can quickly blame private business. Let’s look at both sides.

Over the past two years the government has done some good things to stimulate economic growth and allow for more people to get jobs. They have pumped trillions of dollars of stimulus money into the market, lowered the discount rate, kept taxes low (for now) and made it very easy for new and existing businesses to get loans. They have also done some very foolish things like speculating on raising taxes, passing sweeping and convoluted medical insurance overhaul and obscure banking regulations.

Businesses too have made some progress in getting back on their feet. They have begun cautiously hiring workers again, marginally increasing sales and inventories and more wisely cutting costs. But these things also come at a price to the rest of the economy. Businesses are sitting on millions of reserve capital, shaken by what might happen if the economy gets worse. Cost cutting typically means payroll decreases, pay cuts for experienced workers and a general lack of hiring, production and research and development.

So the showdown between the government and businesses continues all the while asking the question- who is going to blink first? I would submit that this is no showdown at all, but rather two friends who are having one heck of a quarrel. That quarrel got so bad that the people of this country had to step in and do something to calm them down and so they did- they voted. What exactly they voted for will remain a point of debate, but inarguably they voted for government to stop the foolish things and continue the more wise and time-tested approaches to getting the economy back on its feet. Likewise they voted for businesses to stop the government cat-and-mouse game and push forward optimistically and openly without the shady back-room deals and dirty money.

If this seems like an oversimplification of the midterm elections, that because it is. I feel that for all the hype and hoopla of ideology and power-grabbing at the end of the day we all want to be successful. Many workers haven’t had much to celebrate in the way of success lately and that needs to change.

Our Business Model

We don't usually try to toot our own horn on our blog posts. In fact, we typically try blog about ideas that are more pertinent to other businesses and economic and social conditions. But I thought this might be a good time to let all of our customers and clients know where Beacon Marketing Consultants stands in these turbulent times.

I'm proud to say that like a lighthouse, Beacon stands strong in the storm and is still shining brighter than ever. Our product division has grown very well over the past year and we have been able to help dozens of small business owners start, sell and maintain their product lines in areas all across the country. We have done pro bono work for organizations in Africa, in Haiti and provided assistance and relief for local and international charities. One of our main initiatives in 2011 will be to provide much needed help for women in Kenya to start their own businesses. In short, we are growing in ways we never dreamed possible.

Many obstacles remain however. Like all businesses we have had to cut overhead costs which has meant taking on fewer clients and advocating against many new ideas and products at least until the economy improves, we have had to keep smaller inventories, ship fewer orders and have had less feet on the ground to grow sales in many areas. While we don’t' expect these obstacles to remain permanent, they do allow us, like many other businesses, to give pause regarding the future and what it means for growth. As the unemployment numbers show, growth will be slow.

The same holds true for Beacon. Still the indomitable spirit of our employees and clients- their hard work, effort, determination and sacrifice is what make all business great. We do not believe in "trimming the fat" because we do not believe that even in the best of economic times that companies, including our own, should be "fat." Our business model has always been growth. Our growth is spurred not by increasing costs, but by increasing our talent and selectively taking on customers and clients who have the desire to succeed and who benefit from our products.

It is always difficult to grow a business in an environment such as this, but that never means that we stop growing. We may not be able to rent or buy new property, increase or customers and beef up our inventory as robustly or quickly as we'd like, but our less tangible qualities can shine through. Qualities like creativity and efficiency never stop even when growth is slow.

For these reasons and many others, I strongly recommend that if you are ready to make the jump into the market place with a new idea let Beacon Marketing Consultants help get you started. If your business is looking for quality, low-priced products look no further than Beacon Imports. And even if the time is not right for you, we're still Beacon and we'll be here when the storm is over.

The End of Business As We Know It

"Many of my customers have survived," said an old colleague of mine over coffee the other day.

"But, they’ll never be the same."

Arguably, the economy is on the rebound, but as many experts predicted, it is not the rebound that we hoped for. Such a fall from lofty economic heights surely deserved a much better bounce that what is before us now. The road to beating unemployment is long and fraught with difficulties, it will likely take years. Returns on investments are still lagging, and getting back to an even strength portfolio may take even longer. Consumers are saving, not buying…at least, not like before. Businesses are still trying to find ways to cut costs, work on smaller margins, increase value and position themselves to be more profitable when better times arrive.

Through all this however, there remains an optimistic and hopeful attitude towards commerce and the consumer products industry in general. Bottom line: people need "stuff." That will never change, but the "stuff" they need and what they will give up in exchange for it will.

Ten years ago, the giftware, home décor, floral and personal care industries were a veritable boon to all businesses trying to jump into the market. Today it represents more of a wandering wasteland with a few gems, but relatively risky and bumpy terrain. Make no mistake, we will all get out of these doldrums, but when we do, we may in fact be surprised to find that the business world as we know it has changed. In fact, the signs are not hard to see all if we look at the real, societal world.

Business is about relationships. Relationships are founded on and grounded in trust. Trust is built through ongoing, structured, positive actions and communication. And let’s face it, communications mediums both digital and otherwise have become log jammed with superfluous messages and empty promises. It’s no wonder consumers and businesses have a wary eye on each other. Doing business, whether in the consumer products industry or the aerospace industry requires trusting, lasting communication.

Today, there is less face to face communication and more shortened, quick electronic communication. This lack of interpersonal connection has led to a mass breakdown of the sales- customer connection. Couple this fact with a reeling economy and you have a complete flattening of a huge segment of the consumer market: those that can’t afford "stuff", those who don’t trust business enough to do so and those who fall into both difficult categories.

But through such a meltdown lies a unique opportunity for small businesses, an opportunity to build trust in a way that uses available communication and fosters an ongoing, symbiotic and most importantly, personal relationship. I like to call it "FaceBook Commerce." It’s not e-commerce and it’s not internet marketing. In fact, don’t let the term fool you, it’s not about cyber-anything. What FaceBook Commerce is about is taking the concept of an online social network like FaceBook and brining its core values into the marketplace of business ideas.

The concept of "casting a broad net" (mass digital marketing) has become too easy too quickly and cost too much in time, resources and customer trust. What was once the promise of a digital one-to-one future has resulted in a sea of mass confusion, a shell game resembling electronic gimmicks complete with smoke, mirrors and distractions packaged to showcase 21^{st century speed and efficiency.}

Take this as an example- if I want to reach 100 customers, I would send 100 emails, send 100 faxes, make 100 phone calls or a combination of these efforts to the accounts I am trying to reach. If I want to connect with 100 customers, I need to give them a much better reason to respond than a phone call, fax or email. Such exercises are akin to searching for John Smith on Face Book. There are far too many of them out there and the chances that you are going to connect with the one you are looking for upon your first search is very unlikely.

Small businesses have become too obsessed with reaching customers and not nearly as concerned with connecting with customers. Herein lies the new world or business communication. Face Book business (sites like Linked In have begun to pioneer such opportunities) takes the reasons why one would want to find a John Smith in the first place and applies those reasons to the business world. Maybe John Smith was an old buddy, maybe John Smith was recently in the news, maybe John Smith recently won the lottery. Whatever the rationale for your search, the reasons prompt you to look for him specifically.

As a small business, you are "John Smith." Your customers are the searchers. You need to give them the same reasons as John Smith has for his search to look for you whether it is online over the phone or in person. You need to give your customers a reason to come find you. You can’t just say, "hey, here I am, I have email and a website, come see me." You have to generate a reason to have a customer see you. Many times, it is a personal connection, a group of friends who are your closest and best customers simply by the sheer nature of knowing you. Maybe you have a group of referrals from this core group. Maybe a sales representative has personal connections. Maybe you are attending trade shows, publicizing in trade magazines, advertising or charitable giving. All these things create a buzz which creates communication which creates trust which creates relationships.

These relationships are circles, they are not huge masses. Face Book business is about circles of trust in the business world. And as we emerge from this era of difficulty it will be these small trusting circles that will be the core of our businesses activities. The days of expensive mass digital marketing are coming to an end. Generating customers will be even more difficult than before, but keeping them will be easier as long as any business realizes that it is not about reaching anymore, it’s about connecting.