Don't Freak Out As The Economy Slows!

I have had somewhat of a Blog dry spell....not because I ran out of things to write about, but because I was unable to access the account to make a new posting.

I'm over that little stumbling block and back on the blogsational case now and I must stay....very upbeat about this year.

One of the magazines that I enjoy reading is the Netregistry Nett Magazine. Its a great read with interesting articles about business in an online sense and is particularly useful, I think, for small and medium sized business. One of the articles in the January 2009 issue that caught my eye was a very simple common sense approach to the economy and business. It was written by a Sally Mills, CEO or the recruitment firm LaVolta - the articles headline was "Don't freak out as the economy slows". I think as a nation, Australia and Australian's are relatively positive. We are upbeat and despite obvious international influences, and usually a time lag in their effects, there are simple strategies that we can all do in our business, no matter what their size to help the economy and the people who are a part of it.

Unfortunately, the Classic DONT'S That MOST Do are things like:

1. cut on marketing;
2. cut on employment and
3. cut on training!

When a business cuts too much out of their marketing budget, or doesn't channel what they do have into areas that provide real value....they risk getting lost in the market place.

When a business cuts on employment, rather than trying to utilise current resources more efficiently, the pressures on a shrinking economy are increased.

When a business cuts on training, it can have a detrimental impact upon the customer experience.

Sometimes it may be all 3! The point being, downward spirals can be difficult to claw your way out of - so try not to go there in the beginning!

In the current economic climate, customers are looking for value in every opportunity. I believe that the biggest draw card in Clubs today is sensational food for a sensational price. This has always been the case, however, today, not only do Clubs have sensational food, but state of the art menus, chef's, dining experience, range from cafe/casual dining to sensational world class a la carte restaurants and function facilities.

Clubs are ALL about the Members. Of course! However, something to think about is the promotion of Club facilities to more than just Members....for their long term sustainability, Club dining facilities has to be about paying customers. Paying customers are members, visitors and guests to the Club. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE WANT VALUE!

Remember......the key to value is in the way that it is delivered & promoted. To offer value doesn't mean reinventing the wheel, and giving away more than is currently offered, its about delivering value to entice a new customer to try your facilities, enjoy their time with you and potentially become a new member. That is, its all about telling people what your Club already offers and most importantly, inviting them to try it too!

Strategically, I would be looking at marketing campaigns which considered the following:

- delivering value to customers that improves their day to day life;
- improving your Clubs website and the customer's experience of it;
- review your clubs online marketing strategies;
- focus on internal training activities and employment;
- look to market your club more cost effectively.

www.clubsational.com.au can assist your Club in all of these areas.

Generation X and Y - Does Their Use of Technology Differ?

Following on from the article in my October 2008 blog about Innovation and Technology and in my search for understanding Gen X & Y's - I came across an interesting article published online on July 21st 2008 by a Michael Dinan, the editor of TMCnet. The article talks about a large American research firm that launched the results of a new technology survey in July this year called "The State of Consumers and Technology: Benchmark 2008" and claims to be "the largest ongoing survey in the world to explore consumer attitudes, ownership and use of technology".

One of the questions which is frequently asked, yet difficult to differentiate from a technology perspective is the difference between the habits and dynamics of Generation X’s and Y’s (Remember Gen X is 24 - 29 year olds and Gen Y is 18 – 28 year olds). Of course there has to be a difference, even if all we do is look at the age demographics, we can make astute observations about broad spending habits, for example, like a bigger percentage of Gen X’ers would have mortgages. Interesting, the article says that the data in the above report claims that it clearly shows the distinction between Gen X and Gen Y:

- "Generation X’ers use technology when it supports a lifestyle need whereas;

- Generation Y’s use of technology is so embedded into everything Gen Y’s do that they are truely the first native online population. Gen Y spends more time online – for leisure or work – than watching TV".

When we put this into a practical sense, we then need to make sure that our online marketing strategies add value to the users experience. So, for example:

1. Generation X’s will search online for information, whats on, how to save money when they are planning to go out and would be comfortable printing out a discount voucher to redeem in a club however;

2. Generation Y’s have an iphone or similar and do their searching on their mobile phone as well as via PC/Laptop etc but want to be able to access offers on the run.

In other words, technology is embedded into everything they do including how they access & retrieve information. So in the marketing strategies, online advertising & promotional vehicles and your Club’s website, it is important to continually innovate how you use technology to ensure that your Club is maximizing its potential to communicate to the generations that will be delivering the growth to your business now and into the future. Clubs that are doing this, will be sowing the seeds for their future.

One of our key strategies for www.clubsational.com.au is to continually innovate through the development of our technology. When we launched Clubsational in July 2007, we launched with the online discount vouchers. Since that time, we have also launched Jobs and Stays (accommodation). Any business today needs to innovate, even if only incrementally. Watch this space for some new innovation shortly......