At times like this there is a temptation to throw up your hands and decide that to do anything is a complete waste of effort.
And in many instances, such as with superannuation funds, the best strategy for most individuals is to do exactly that – although I must hasten to add that this of course assumes your financial adviser had invested wisely on your behalf in the first instance.
However, for people actively involved in business, as owners or senior managers of medium sized companies, there are in fact a number of new factors at play, which could actually assist or improve your organisation’s market position and long term profitability.
All other things being equal, larger companies do tend to do better in downturns simply because smaller rivals are usually forced to slow their growth plans and/or raise their prices – which commonly translates to less brand switching and higher margins through reduced competition.
The only real issue facing larger organisations is how to handle their cost base in the face of falling revenues – most pragmatic decision-makers will simply grab the opportunity and reduce staff numbers – no corporate manager ever got fired for laying off too many workers.
The most obvious opening for ‘small’ businesses (I hate that term and much prefer ‘growth’) is to target large/monopoly entities and offer their customers better products/services at prices the high-cost players simply can’t match.
It is an unfortunate fact of business life, for the bigger players, that the average punter usually hates large institutions such as banks or government owned monopolies or the big end of town (for a variety of real and not so real reasons) and will seriously consider switching to a credible alternative supplier particularly when their disposable income dries up, like right now.
The challenge for ‘growth’ companies is to actually lift their game in the marketplace, in terms of advertising and marketing, at a time when all the signals are screeching “do nothing and batten down the hatches”.
Be reassured, the mountains of research on competitive behaviour (Michael Porter et al) over many decades has clearly shown that downturns are the opportunity for companies to build their market share – so the economic pain we will no doubt suffer in the next 12-18 months should not only be endured but actually built upon.
The number and size of opportunities to grow, when all your competitors are doing the opposite, will naturally depend on your own particular circumstances but they will definitely be there – if you look hard enough.
The major challenge, once you have identified them and developed a strategy will be holding your nerve during the execution phase when the dreaded ‘hockey stick effect’ will make its inevitable appearance.
At the risk of sounding sexist, this phase will really separate the men from the boys (replace with women from the girls as required) – ‘grown ups from the children’ doesn’t really work does it?
In fact the only thing holding you back (whatever your age or gender) will be yourself as the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously said: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”. | 
