Considering a way to recession proof your business? How about increasing the Volume.

Sure, you can cut costs, but you can’t cut costs to zero and isn’t it more productive to find a way to grow, profitably? If you are currently profitable, then you have every reason to dive into your market and go grab more share.

If you have a web component – whether full blown e-commerce or an information source – consider ways to boost your conversion and traffic. Are you driving sufficient traffic to the site. Is the traffic you are driving targeted? Are they taking the action you want? Your website should groom the right customer to join your sales funnel. Mind you, not every potential customer, but the right customer.

Your analytics program will show you that information. If that loses you, go get google analytics, put it on each page of your site (better yet, into the template) and start tracking. Make sure you have the functionality to track customers from entrance to action item and payment as appropriate.

Kraig Kramers of CeoTools.com agrees that now is the time to grab market share. As he puts it: “The idea with the expanded effort on direct sales is to take market share away from others who are caught in the recessionary doldrums (just drifting along with the economic decline).”

Yes!

At the very least, generate action items to increase your sales, and even better, keep a keen eye on prime market share starting to falter. Sure it sounds predatory, but think of it as searching for a parking spot at the mall during a holiday. If you want to get into the mall, you have to find a spot. Only now, you have better information and can pick the spot you want as close to the mall as you like.

In a recession the best defense is a strong offense, pump up your sales volume.

Recession proof your business this summer by unlocking your cash reserves. Start shopping! Now really is an excellent time to buy. Average and mediocre private equity firms are on the sidelines because they depend on the fast food of capital, cheap debt. Banks are skittish and recent deals are not unlocking their value at quite the rate some investors would like. Even the Financial Times mentioned that a number of PE firms would be returning capital to investors (6/30/08 FT) because they cannot meet return targets.

This creates the perfect opportunity for corporate investors to snap up some delightful complements. We are seeing interest in corporate entities rounding out their client interaction portfolio which is to say, making their communities tighter.

For the local Dental Clinics this means purchasing the local community user group that has 10,000 active and 20,000 moderately active users (interact once-a-month). While it is not unusual to see vertical integration, what is different now is the flavor of that integration. These are independent users bound only by an interest in being terrified by Dentists. The Dental Clinics get the obvious benefits of “listening in on user conversations” to enhance, reposition their products and advertising at cost, but the abstract benefit of expansion is much more real with a user group to lead the way.

Given that a number of these users are not as true local as would be necessary for a Dental Practice, the Clinics are using this (super cheap!) acquisition to open additional not-currently-local markets. These additional clinics will open in early 2009 and already have 2 month waiting lists in 4 of the 5 new markets. The doors will open cash flow positive. Not a bad gig if you can get it.

So open your FCF to acquisitions that can bring you closer to your best customers. Snuggle right up to them. The deals aren’t cheap in most markets but the crazy auction format has ceded to a more reasonable due diligence style.

I like deals that complement your core offering. If your customer wants it anyway, why not benefit from providing it? Enjoy shopping through late-October.

In today’s whirly climate of recession versus downturn versus sunny skies, it serves us all to consider how to recession-proof businesses. It certainly never hurts, right?

"Those who focus on getting their sales message, sales staff and corporate mission in alignment with what the business’ customers value will reap the greatest reward in any economy and in particular, a recession." - K. McKeon

In a recession we effectively cull the herd of non-performing companies. If you are the bottom quarter of your industry, perhaps your talents are better suited elsewhere. Move on.

A recession is the perfect time to test your sales staff. As other companies realize they are not in the fight for the long haul, your front line sales staff should be scooping up customers left and right. A company in alignment with customer values should actually THRIVE during a recession or downturn. Even if your product doesn’t fully suit your customer in the economic downturn, simply having that customer means you can ask what to provide to maximize the customer’s needs. It may mean providing a smaller form of your product or a related product. You won’t know until you ask. Good sales staff ask.

For more on the concept of aligning your front line with your customer’s needs: How to Recession Proof Businesses.

Go. Win.