Cost Reduction: Is Downsizing a Last Resort, or Merely the Road More Easily Traveled?
There have been some high profile layoffs in our industry over the last few weeks. And with our economy in the tank, companies experiencing slumping sales and the outlook for the rest of Q4 painted as “bleak,” it’s safe to expect more downsizing to follow.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about how to bulletproof your career in this economy by cutting costs. And don’t fear, I have many more cost-cutting/revenue-creating tips for you this week. (Forthcoming, stay tuned.)
(For my most recent column, and those cost-cutting tips, click here.)
But first I’d like to address all the C-level folks who read my column (and the rest of you, too, of course). Let me begin by making the assertion that your business is not very efficient. No matter how well you run your business, you’re still bleeding cash out the door in many places.
Here, let me help you out:
1. Your call center doesn’t convert enough prospects to customers.
2. Neither does your Web site. Most likely your Web site converts customers in the single digits.
3. Right now, someone is speaking to one of your call-center reps or is on your Web site, and is getting annoyed and/or frustrated.
4. Did you hear that? That’s the sound of clicking away and the phone hanging up.
These are just four areas I see daily that always need work. They’re usually the lowest-hanging fruit.
In short, no matter how you slice it, both your sales acumen and customer service need major work. And by only fixing those parts of your business, you’ll recoup enough revenue to probably help you through the storm.
Ask yourself the following: How much more revenue will you create by converting 1 percent more sales in your call center or Web site? How much more gross profit will you get by reducing returns by a percent? There’s plenty of stuff here to fix.
- Companies:
- Gilbert Direct Marketing
- People:
- Jim Gilbert
Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.
