The economy has deep, fundamental problems that have resulted in a recession.  This is old news by now, and we are bombarded with depressing market news daily from different parts of the world telling us that things are getting worse, not better.  But Americans are not the kind of people who stay in a bad place for long.  We like to fix problems, not dwell on them – and we are impatient.  The real question is not “how bad is it or how bad will it get?”  It is “what are we going to do about it?” 

What should you do in a down market?  First, and foremost, you have to be smart.  Second, you have to work harder than ever before.  The “work harder” part most people get, but it’s the “work smarter” part they sometimes miss.  Both are key attributes, but being smart means deciding what your strategy should be.  

For many firms, the strategy begins and ends with cost cutting.  This is well intentioned, but ultimately insufficient in the long run.  Many firms hunker down, cut costs, and try to gain efficiencies in order to maintain profits, stop the bleeding, and in certain cases, simply survive.  The last point should not be taken lightly as there inevitably will be many corporate casualties particularly if we have a lengthy recession.  We are already seeing this today in the financial sector, and other core industries such as automotive are experiencing significant issues.  

So is hunkering down and protecting the flanks while downsizing the firm and finding efficiencies the right way to go?  Leaders in companies and other organizations have to stay smart and look at ways to reduce costs and gain efficiencies.  That is prudent at any time, but particularly important when the market is suffering.  However, it’s not enough.  At Axispoint, we are always looking for ways to gain efficiencies, improve our processes, and be better than the competition.  But we also fundamentally believe in growth – and here’s the secret to a successful strategy in a recession – there is no better time to think about growth than during a downturn.  That’s when the future winners make changes, make investments, place bets, and strengthen their position in ways that will allow them to leapfrog the competition when the economy turns.  

I believe that in addition to reigning in expenditures, you need to be proactive and highly creative to figure out how to best take advantage of opportunities in a down market.  And guess what?  Real opportunities exist, but they usually don’t just fall in your lap.  You have to seek and nurture them and grow one new customer at a time.  Let me be more specific.  

At Axispoint, we focus on three things: Customers, Solutions and People.  We begin with our existing clients, staying close, helping them think through their most complex problems, helping them find new ways to grow revenue, cut costs, and improve efficiency.   We target one new client at a time, earning their trust (which is not an entitlement by the way) and becoming their technology partner, not simply someone that sells them technology, but someone who helps them figure out how to leverage technology to achieve their business goals.  We create “Must Have” Solutions (versus Nice to Have) that help our clients take advantage of cutting edge technology to solve real problems that are critical today and tomorrow.  And most importantly, we focus on people.  We are a people business and our existing customers and employees are our life blood.  By focusing on customer needs, must-have solutions and people and caring, we will help our clients through these difficult times, and by doing so attempt to grow our company.   

I don’t yet know the level of growth Axispoint will achieve during this current downturn.  But I do know that we will not sit idly by, hunker down and hope for the best.  We will use our brains, our passion, our energy and our will to do our best to grow the firm while achieving efficiency gains.  In this way when the market turns and improves, whether that be six months from now or three years from now, we will be in a far better position than our competition and we will then grow to unforeseen levels in our company history.  And though it will not be easy, we certainly will be stimulated and have fun through the journey.