Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figure which showed that the country’s economy contracted by 2.06 percent. This means Nigeria is now officially in a recession.
Nigeria’s economic crisis was caused by the impact of the fall in oil prices, China’s economic slowdown and the US Fed hike. However, the main reason was due to the fall in oil price as the country was about 75 percent dependent on oil as its only source of revenue. The fall in oil price led to a fall in the revenue of the country and the weakening of its currency, the Naira. The government also worsened the situation by putting stringent monetary policies in place. As a result of these factors, several foreign investors pulled back and remain uncertain about investing any time soon.
The economic situation in the country is affecting millions of Nigerians who now save more in order to avoid debts. Business organizations are beginning to slash the salaries of their staff while some are laying off workers; smaller businesses are beginning to close up shop. Parents are also struggling to pay school fees and the cost of transportation has increased.
However, all hope is not lost for business owners who want to stay in the market and keep their customers during this recession. Here are five smart things they need to do:
Reduce costs
During a recession, a business owner is advised to reduce the cost of running the business in order to optimize profit. This means business owners will be forced to reduce their staff strength and every other expenditure. They should also look for ways to sell items that do not move or turn frequently, and not lock down cash.
Train their staff
Since downsizing is inevitable during a recession, it is necessary to train the remaining staff. This is because when one person leaves and the other person remaining is trained to handle the task, it would go a long way in helping productivity. The absence of the other person will not be felt as customers will remain satisfied with your services.
Focus on quality
According to Henry Ford, quality means doing it right when no one is looking. But in this case, it is doing it right even when times are hard. This is because in the long run, what wins is quality. Business owners do not need to compromise quality in order to gain because, in the long run, customers may not return since they have lost their confidence in the said products and services.
Review marketing strategies
Business owners need to review their marketing strategies in order to remain in the business. They need to reduce spending on traditional media and focus more on the internet. With this, they will be able to focus on existing clients and get more out of them. Internet marketing will save many companies as people will not spend their money buying the dailies when they can get the information they need online.
Expand geographically
Internet marketing has created a new wave in the business scene. It has been able to help business owners expand their services geographically. All a business owner needs to do at this time is to create an expertise or a niche item / service by making it unique and different from what customers may get from other companies.
