Whether we’re technically in a recession right now won’t be known for a few weeks when Q2’s numbers have been tabulated. But the textbook definition of a recession doesn’t really matter anyway, does it? What matters is whether (and how many of) our potential customers still feel like spending money on your targeted grazing service.
Whenever consumers feel like spending less, there’s good reason to have heightened awareness if you’re a business owner. But that doesn’t mean 100% doom and gloom, and it certainly doesn’t mean it’s time to panic. In fact, there can be real opportunities during a recession, and we don’t want you to miss them.
Here are some healthy ways to respond to the threat of a recession:
Evaluate your prices. Notice we didn’t say, “lower your prices.” It’s generally accepted wisdom that you don’t want to be caught in the middle with your pricing during a recession. People who can afford it continue to buy higher priced non-essentials during recessions, and people who can’t rush to lower priced alternatives. Few people truly stop spending money. If you’re offering a product or service that is neither a near-luxury nor a bargain, you’re you-know-what. If your local economy is in rough shape, it’s a bad time to be offering a service that is somewhat expensive. We also can’t compete with bargain priced alternatives, because the alternative to targeted grazing is to do nothing, or buy a $29 hedge trimmer and go full DIY on that brush problem. We simply can’t compete with that on price. So, yes. We’re telling you to consider raising your prices during a recession! Make your service look expensive, not just sort of expensive.
Put a laser focus on the right customer segments. Obviously, if you follow the above advice, you need to find the people who can (and will) pay a premium for your service even during a recession. That means you really need to know your customers and how to reach them. Go back and review the six customer segments we covered in affiliate training. Are there ones that are more likely than others to produce for you during hard economic times? Remember, it’s not only about knowing who’s wealthy. It’s also about asking, “Who will make spending on my expensive service a priority, even when money is tight?” You need to find the kind of people who will postpone a car purchase or vacation to make room in the budget for goat grazing. Finding the kind of people who don’t have to sacrifice any of those things is nice too, of course. Finally, don’t assume that just because this may be a bad time for consumers that it’s a bad time for local governments. Public entities are awash in post-pandemic sales tax revenues and grant funds. Now’s the time to plug targeted grazing into their budgets, as the belt-tightening of public entities lags behind the economic struggles of consumers — sometimes by years.
Don’t assume National = Local. So the U.S. economy may have suffered two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth — the technical definition of a recession. Big deal. Does that automatically mean that your local demand is about to evaporate? Of course not! Local economies reflect local forces first, and hard times don’t hit every region and every community equally. Further, there may be reasons why, in your market, the demand for targeted grazing stays hot even when other businesses in the area are struggling. For example, customers in the U.S. West simply have to deal with the problem of excess vegetation that could fuel wildfires, and grazing is one of the best ways to do it. The urgency means demand will likely remain high, and prices for targeted grazing with it. You may have forces in your area, though different than wildfire, that can nonetheless bolster your business outlook.
Don’t overreact based on a small sample size. Perhaps you’ve had people cancel scheduled grazing projects, or it seems like more potential customers than usual are balking at your prices. There seems to be a growing miserly vibe that wasn’t there before. We’re not going to tell you to ignore that vibe, but don’t rush to conclusions. How many people in your market have you talked to? Ten? Twenty? Most affiliates serve territories with populations well over 100,000 people. Talking with a relative few people should not be the only reason for taking drastic and often counterproductive action like dramatically lowering your prices. Take a breath. Do some more research. Get to know your customer base even better (refer to #2 above). Invest a little time and money into promotions to expand the pool of potential customers you’re engaging with.
Engage more deeply with your customers. You’ve been keeping all of those email inquiries you get from potential customers, right? You have an email list, right? Maybe it’s time to use MailChimp or ConstantContact or some other app with a free basic subscription to send out an email campaign every couple of months. Your emails don’t even have to be super “marketing-y”. Just drop in a pair of before and after images. In the caption mention what kind of vegetation your herd was tasked with and what the customer’s goals were. Be sure to add a cute picture or two of your goats, and make it clear how customers can contact you. Ask them to take an action (call you, download a brochure, schedule a site visit, etc.). What’s the difference for you between feeling scared about the recession and feeling like you had a great season? Four additional customers? Six? You can get that with more, and more highly targeted, communication. If you don’t have an email list built up yet do it the old fashioned way. Use tax records to pull the names and mailing addresses of 40 - 50 property owners who need your service and are most likely to pay for it (see #2 again). Print and send a postcard to each of them.
There’s no need to fear a recession! Meet it head on and use it as an opportunity to grow. Remember, your competitors are operating in the same environment. If you approach an economic downturn smartly you just might come out the other side without any!