If you’ve been keeping up with industry news, you’ll be well aware that big and small companies across nearly every commercial sector have been laying off employees. Left and right, we see headlines of massive spending cuts and hiring freezes, and although this is widely being attributed to “slowed business growth and higher labor costs,” some speculate that it has more to do with the panic about a potential recession hitting the United States.
Until we reach a point of more economic security, this trend is likely to continue because let’s face it, most companies are emotional and reactionary and are looking for quick fixes to money scares. From a business perspective, at Fullmoon Digital we understand preparing yourself for the worst that can happen during a recession; however, we also want to challenge the notion that clear skies are at the other end of slashing your company’s most valuable asset, namely, its workforce.
When faced with an unpredictable future, you have two choices: succumb to the doom and gloom of the unknown — or seize the opportunity to rally your troops to weather the storm ahead, together.
Preemptive Cost Cutting Before Recession as a Sign of Poor Management
Don’t get us wrong; smart business decisions often come down to knowing when and how to balance your company budget. However, layoffs, especially premature reactionary ones, are generally ill advised for this purpose. Past data has shown that layoffs actually tank a company’s stock price at the time of announcement, gradually lead to a decline in revenue, and drastically reduce the productivity of the employees whose jobs survive the cuts.
And this makes sense, right? If your company boasts a healthy workplace culture but your staff can’t trust that their jobs are secure due to a history of cuts, why would they give your business their best work? Why would potential business partners take on risks with a company that can’t stay afloat without routinely compromising their workforce? Consumer habits are also affected; if the headlines about layoffs lead them to believe that your company is on the decline, they may opt for a product from your competitor instead.
Unfortunately, if your brand’s name is in the news today regarding recession-spurred staffing cuts, many entities that you may rely on for success aren’t perceiving these headlines as smart businesses making smart choices. Instead, it looks like stagnation and arrogance. No one who cuts off their limbs is expected to experience a growth spurt anytime soon, and the more we read these news stories, the more it begins to look like executives are just trying to save their own tails.
How Fullmoon Digital Tackles the Recession Challenge Differently
There is a way to prepare for unknown circumstances in a way that doesn’t put all of your hard work at risk. We haven’t figured out the answers to everything in this industry, but we do know a thing or two about defying the recession gloom we see around us.
Here are the six steps we are following at Fullmoon Digital:
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- Establish a risk register. Murphy’s law can throw curveballs at us. By updating our risk register we can have a higher sense of preparedness when bad things happen.
- Elevate content marketing. Don’t be afraid to invest in the development of strategic content that will benefit readers after the storm subsides. Focus on forward-thinking content that is evergreen, timely, and helpful.
- Empower your team to get creative. We allow our people to try new things, test strange tactics, and elevate their skills. Just because someone is hired for a certain role doesn’t mean they can’t explore other areas of interest and passions.
- Emphasize areas of excellence. Identify core elements that will build agency muscle to withstand challenges, take on minimal damage, and bolster your recovery plan. Use this as the team’s north star – all efforts must be aligned to move one step closer to excellence.
- Engage in deeper partnership. Instead of adding more clients, we obsessively integrate deeper into current client partnerships. We constantly ask, what other areas can Fullmoon Digital support? Where else can we add increasing value to elevate our clients’ digital transformation?
- Explore new revenue opportunities. Not all is lost in a recession. Brands and businesses still need digital marketing, but they can be very selective about who they partner with to help them navigate the muddy waters.
At Fullmoon Digital, we’re built differently. We care about our people in a way that enables us to care deeply about our clients, their people, and their business. Especially if it’s true that a recession is nearing, get someone on your side who is in this game for the long haul.
If you’re ready to start working with a digital marketer who puts strong working relationships above all else, let’s have a chat.