January 1, 1970 (Vol. , No. )

Gabriela Suhoschi

They say that it’s not the recession that will bring a business down but its management’s prioritizations, strategic choices, and overall reaction to the changes. In situations like these businesses become paralyzed, do not act right away, and lose momentum as they do not embrace new trends. Making the right decisions in a recession, though, could turn your business even more profitable than before.

So what are the things that make small- and medium-size businesses survive a recession? To cut costs, restructure, initiate layoffs and, take advantage of decreasing costs are some strategies. Most importantly, though, businesses must give heed to their customers and their new needs.

As a consequence of the recession businesses start looking for new solutions as customers change the way that they operate, which in turn creates a need for new products and services. To be able to follow this development, it is vital for businesses to define their core business, have a clear picture of their main target group, and pay attention to their new needs!

The news media this past year has made it impossible to miss how poor the financial situation is. But there are also businesses that are doing well and have finally succeeded in spite of or even because of the financial crisis. However, their stories of struggle, survival, and success are seldom told.

We speak about the different strategies businesses should apply to get through the recession but rarely hear about the success of those techniques. Attana is an good example and it is important to share such success stories so as to enlighten and inspire.

Following the criteria for survival during a recession, most companies cut costs but too often start by minimizing their marketing budget and thus allowing competitors market visibility. This is exactly what Attana experienced in April while launching a product at a conference. Most participant companies had minimized their marketing budgets and were present in a less active way, which allowed Attana to be the most visible company at the conference and receive very good attention and increased sales as a consequence.

Recessions can be good for businesses, as they provide a wake-up call, forcing companies to review and restructure their short- and long-term plans and prepare for worst-case as well as best-case scenarios. Going through a phase of transition during the past year, our company has had to continuously perform business reviews. While at the stage of becoming a more market-oriented company, Attana has had to restructure itself, hire talented high performers, maintain innovation and flexibility and still continue offering improved business crucial information that has a fast return of investment and thus is affordable even in the financial crisis.

Making the right decision in a recession is vital for business survival. Attana’s management team did not think twice before launching a new product in a recession, since they were aware of the opportunities it could entail when recognizing increased competition.

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