Who Wants To Tango?!
Who Wants To Tango?!
98 Days until the rhythm returns…or, at least that’s what I’m hoping!
In 98 days this country will elect a new President…a new commander-in-chief!…a new sense of hope…a resurgence in confidence…or at least that’s what I am praying for! In 98 days perhaps business will have a rhythm again!
I was talking to my friend and long time client David Hunihan with Fidelity Homes in Sarasota. We were chatting about the peaks and valleys of our businesses and how the current business environment has no rhythm. One day you are slammed and there is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel…then the next day/week comes and that ray of light is an oncoming train. And then it flip-flops again. There seems to be no sense of urgency, no momentum and no rhythm.
So, why 98 days you ask? Well, in the year prior to electing a new president we see a 12-14% dip in our economy. We see a pause. A wait and see attitude pours over us (yes to a certain extent me as well) like a plague. Compound that with daily bad news, summer slow downs and everything else going on in the world today and business loses its rhythm.
So lets create a little rhythm…lets get a bit of momentum and make something happen! In my world (marketing, advertising & public relations) we are almost in October. Publications work 60+ days out from hitting the streets. Heck in another 30 days we will be playing Christmas music around here. Those smart people who have rhythm and can sense that they need to be prepared for the impending season will be prepared for the upswing…not a major upswing, a traditional 8-10% appreciation upswing. Those who are not prepared will have to sit this dance out and only hope that they are around long enough for the next one.
So again I ask, who wants to tango?!
July 29th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Tango? No. A bit too close, and I’m afraid that I might drop you. Around here there has been little gap in work to be done. Its been steady. The big problem here is when a client is looking to have something done they are happy to “lead”, but as soon as they receive an invoice, they employ the classic “head snap”.
July 29th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I feel your pain…we have a lot of promises of work in the fourth quarter. believe my industry invented the “head-snap” and your industry perfected it! ;0)
July 29th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
As they say “You Live by the Sword… You Die by the Sword!” Tom Peters, author of Passion for Excellence, and many more books that track what makes companies successful, still concludes in every one of his books, that there are ONLY two things that cause success. 1.) Know your customer extremely well. and 2.) Constantly innovate.
If they Tango, you Tango, If they want to Waltz, you Waltz… If they pack up and leave town, You find another dance partner… or extend the boundaries of your marketplace to include more “Suspects.”
Our market, marketplace and vast population of available clients, have been living by their respective swords for a long time. Some of them have died by their swords, and yet there are a bright group of new clients that are making our Marketplace a bigger and better place. I thought I knew a lot about the marketing of new homes and developments. But I have learned a lot more lately about marketing Hotels, Schools, Cosmetic Companies, Insurance Companies, Home Remodeling, and a lot more.
Who says that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks… If I need to learn to Tango, I will. But not a pretty sight.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Aaaah, Joe…always so elegant…always so eager to learn a new trick here and there. Bringing it back to the basics is what will enable us all to overcome the challenges that are out there in front of all of us. Keep dancing!!
November 29th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
98 days have come and gone. What’s the take on the “rhythm” now? Me thinks it’s in an uptick as hopefully predicted.