Managing Stakeholders for long-term success
Managing your stakeholders effectively in challenging times is crucial to executing a winning strategy. Good communication is critical.
Keep your shareholders and financiers informed
Don’t keep secrets and don’t spring surprises. Engage them in a positive dialogue about how you intend to handle the threat of a downturn, the opportunities you believe it presents for your business, what you are doing to address any underlying weaknesses in your structure and the strengths that set you apart in your industry sector.
Stay on your customers’ agenda
Loyalty works for everyone so recognise your customers’ loyalty and reward them for it. Segmenting your customer base and prioritising your most important customers can help you protect them from your competitors. Where appropriate develop a key account management programme to identify your “best” customers, and your worst. Focus on your best customers - use hard data and emotional intelligence to keep them spending with you through the economic downturn.
Safeguard your people by keeping up dialogue with your employees
It can be difficult to reward good performance when money is tight, but there will be other personal advantages to your employees in staying with you and now is the time to re-emphasise those.
Talking to the market can help to turn the tide back in your favour
During the last recession, the highest performing brands were those that substantially raised their advertising expenditure. Brands that cut their marketing spend lost market share.
Listen to advice
Use the knowledge that your advisers have acquired from working with a variety of businesses in different sectors to help you in yours.
