A Prescription to Avoid the Death Spiral

Change is a frightening word, especially for businesses, and especially when the economic reality is dismal. But sometimes change is the only way to prevent an inevitable slow decline in your business–the proverbial death spiral. Sometimes you have to do something drastic to stop it in its tracks.

I’ve written about the death spiral as it relates specifically to distributors within the promotional products industry. Seth Godin, author, marketing guru and all-around smart guy, recently gave his own insight about this terminal business illness.

As Tom Peters says, “You can’t shrink your way to greatness,” and yet that’s what so many dying businesses try to do. They hunker down and wait for things to get better, but they don’t. This isn’t a dip, it’s a cul de sac. It’s over.

His prescription: change. Do something new with your business, whether that means embracing technology and social media, changing your strategy or even switching companies.

As the economy begins to show small signs of impending recovery, you may be tempted to just bide your time and ride it out. But the time to make a change is now, BEFORE the death spiral starts. Once you’ve lost too much business, too much credit with your suppliers… it might be too late.

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