Rabbi Yitzhak Miller Economic Analysis

The False Economy of “In-House”

By Heather Villa
Let’s get the bad news over with: To say that the U.S. economy is facing the most challenging economic time since the Great Depression is not an overstatement. Last week, employers shed almost 600,000 jobs. Today, 11.6 million Americans are out of work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate has officially risen to 7.6%.

“This is the largest 13-month job loss since the payroll employment series began in 1939,” Christina Romer, the head of President Obama’s White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement on February 6, 2009. “These numbers, and the very real suffering of American workers they represent, reinforce the need for bold fiscal action. If we fail to act, we are likely to lose millions more jobs and the unemployment rate could reach double digits.”

So, what’s the good news, you say? Given these data, how do business, political, and nonprofit leaders reignite confidence in their ability to lead? How do they exemplify brand integrity, and any good will their organization may have? Is such a thing even possible, given current levels of consumer confidence and general economic malaise?

It is not only possible to build a strong brand in the current economy; there is untold opportunity to thrive. Using time-honored rules, one can strengthen brand trust and grow share of wallet and voice, even in these difficult times. Two great opportunities to leverage those time-honored rules come to mind: Opportunity #1) Competitors are reducing their marketing spend, and Opportunity #2) Stakeholders are more perceptive during times of uncertainty.

Competitors Are Reducing Marketing and Research Budgets

In 16 years as a marketing practitioner, I have often told clients, “You NEVER stop communicating with your stakeholders when times are difficult.” When confidence is low, customers and employees want their trusted institutions to exude competency, integrity, and a core of humanity. When competitors “go black” to cut costs; savvy marketing practitioners use the opportunity to fill the void with communication that is relevant to the lives of their stakeholders. These days, he who provides comfort, confidence, constancy and consistency wins. Here are a few inexpensive, yet powerful, methods to produce significant rewards:

1) Social networking media. A number of organizations are using Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter to communicate directly with the public. These are great message tools; but they are also great listening tools. Spend some time listening to chatter about your brand. If you’re a small business - generate some positive chatter!

2) Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives. For example, Company XYZ employees can work together mentoring young people, helping a local charity, or providing expertise to a budding young company. These initiatives are not only good for the region, they tell a great story about the soul of the company (even when times are tough).

3) Consumer Advisory Boards. This is a tool that we recently suggested to a client with a limited research budget. We helped them recruit a group of core customers of varying levels of loyalty and satisfaction to help the company with product re-design and message development. Your customers can do a great job of keeping you honest, if you let them.

Customers, Employees, and Shareholders are on High Alert

Whether you lead a small business or a multinational corporation, every message that emanates from your organization (and brand) during this challenging economy takes on additional significance. Your stakeholders are listening to what you say and watching what you do. Consumers are not spending as much; but they are listening to the signals organizations send. Employees are anxious, however they are paying close attention to the moves their leaders make. With every new data point, stakeholders either have increased trust in your brand - or you lose them. This is the time to deeply establish your credentials as a trusted brand. Here are three critical actions to establishing a strong brand in a weak economy:

1) Exude Integrity. This is the most important element of building a trusted brand. Recently, I was conducting an interview for our upcoming Trust in Leadership Series, and an Executive VP of a global hotel company told me that the way his organization has been able to thrive in this economy is that his brand, “Always delivers on its promise. There are no exceptions.” My words to him were, “Of course… What else would you tell me?”

He said something really interesting, “It’s not about what I say to you, it’s about what I do for my customers all over the world.”

He had recently visited one of his high-end hotel chains in a major U.S. city, and was told that a (now former) employee blatantly lied to a longstanding customer about a service offering. That particular corporate customer had held their annual convention at the hotel for many years. They were very profitable, and brought a positive stream of national press every year. He concluded, “The situation was ultimately resolved, but I felt that our integrity was in question. The following weekend, I got in my car and drove across three states to apologize to their board members, and refund a portion of their fees.” His integrity will not be forgotten.

2) Showcase Organizational Capabilities. It’s one thing to talk a good game, it’s another to deliver. Stakeholders want to know that the product works the way it is supposed to, and that your team has the technical knowledge to deliver on the promise. Take this opportunity to increase your organization’s institutional knowledge. Take advantage of high-alert stakeholders’ interest by educating them. Become a trusted source of knowledge, transparency, and information in your industry or sector.

3) Emanate Goodwill. Authentic goodwill, particularly as the public suffers, drives a powerful message across organizational channels and throughout your marketing mix. For example, companies with a long-term investment in sustainability practices are shoring up credentials as brands that “do good while doing well.” Other organizations have taken cost-cutting measures to save the jobs of long-term employees. Even small businesses are getting into the act by contributing their limited time and money to worthy causes.
Article is Suggested By  Rabbi Yitzhak Miller

How to Host a Money-Making Economy Crisis Garage Sale
Article is Audited By Rabbi Yitzhak Miller
By Alexandra Vrugt
Everybody’s looking for a deal during this economy crisis. Families are trying to scale back and stretch their savings and budgets to the max. Garage sales are a wonderful way for families to earn a few extra dollars and for other consumers to reap the benefits of having an opportunity to buy for cheap lots of different things.

But, every garage sale is not a perfect event. In fact, plenty of people make some basic mistakes that keep them from making the money that they desire. Here are a few basic tips that will help you to host a money-making garage sale during this economy crisis:

Signage is extremely important. There are a few reasons why your garage sale signs can make or break your sale. It’s the first thing that people will see about your sale and will decide whether or not follow the signs based on how it looks.

First of all, if you make them too small or write them in a way that is illegible, you will be sure to put a huge dent in the number of potential customers. Secondly, if you post signs where you are not supposed to or in a way that could cause an uproar with your home association or the local police, you could end up paying a fine that could wipe out any money that you made on your sale. Finally, be sure to use every available bulletin board in places like the local library, community center, and supermarket to advertise your upcoming garage sale. Use bright and attractive paper that you can buy for cheap at a discount store, and keep the signs simple by putting “Garage Sale”, date, time, your address, and arrows to direct people.

Safety is a big issue. You need to make sure that there is a place for people to park their cars so that they can shop at your sale. Also, you need to keep all animals out of sight. Dogs, cats, and any other pets could make people not want to stop at your sale. You know your pet, but they don’t, and people don’t care if they can buy for cheap at your garage sale, when it comes to their personal safety they will most likely just stay away. Plus, remember, hopefully, there will be lots of cars and traffic which could make your pet uncomfortable. For everybody’s safety, keep the pets away from the sale.

Post your sale information online and in every free paper in town. There are plenty of free classifieds websites such as Craigslist.org that allow people to post garage sale information. If you don’t have free classifieds with your local newspaper, the cost to post a garage sale should be very low. You should be able to buy for cheap a newspaper and online classifieds deal. Remember to list some of what you have to offer, your start time, the date, location, and if you have room a few basic directions.

Tell everybody that you know and tell them to pass the information along. Word of mouth is a great way to get people to your sale. It’s one of the most effective forms of advertising when it comes to garage sales. Be sure to tell them what you are selling and you should do well. Just knowing that there will be good bargains and chances to buy for cheap should definitely peak people’s interest in your sale.

Make sure that your items are organized and priced to sale. People often make the mistake of throwing their stuff to the public and expecting the customers to sort and figure stuff out. Nobody has time for that. Clearly mark everything with a price because people don’t like having to ask about prices for everything. Display your items in a way that lets people know that you are serious about parting with them and that they can buy for cheap lots of stuff at your garage sale.