When people become stingy and start to cut down on spending because times have become difficult, should we panic as we watch our customers stop buying our products or engaging our services? Should we merely wait for the economic situation to brighten while our cash flow dries up?
No, we are not panicking. No, we are not merely waiting at the sidelines. We are tightening our belts in our struggle to keep costs lower. Many even decided to also cut down on their communication and publicity efforts.
Are we doing the right thing?
In a noisy marketplace, is it wise to lower your volume or just stop telling people you are there? How will your consumers, customers, or clients find you? When your competitors are coming in noisy and loud attracting the people who once enjoy your products or services, should you give up the publicity battle and just hope that they will miss you and return eventually?
When sales go down, more competitors eye your consumers, and cash flow begins drying up, one of the best things you can do to kill the business is stop investing on publicity. You will sever your business lifeline and future hope of potential growth.
Robert Kiyosaki, in his book Rich Dad’s “Guide to Investing,” believes spending on communication is not an expense. It is an investment to ensure increasing cash flow. “The better at communicating you are, and the more people you communicate to, the better your cash flow will be … The world is filled with fabulous products, but the money goes to the best communicators.”
The following passage from Kiyosaki’s book is particularly specific:
” ‘Cash flow flowing into your business is in direct proportion to communications going out.” Whenever I find a business that is struggling, it is often a reflection of poor communications going out, not enough communications going out, or both. In general, I find a six week cycle between communication and cash flow. Stop communicating today and in six weeks you will see an impact on your cash flow.”
For PRworks, which is in the business of helping clients in their communication needs, we recognize this reality time and again in our own efforts to communicate our presence and services as well as that of our clients.
GT Cosmetics, a Cebu-based business engaged in producing beauty soap products lines for example, grew by leaps and bounds when people began to read about the product and the company in newspapers, see models on television extolling its virtues, or interact with bloggers who tried and liked the GT products.
This happened after PRworks devised an integrated and strategic public relations campaign in key Visayas and Mindanao urban centers along with Metro Manila.
Today, satisfied users of GT Cosmetics products are growing in numbers in other key cities in central and southern Philippines, and even in Metro Manila. The market share of GT Cosmetics has grown tremendously in two years despite the huge marketing noise of giant competitors which are based in Metro Manila.
Remember, before we delight our consumers with our products or clients with our services so they will come back and even talk about our products and services to their friends and colleagues, we need to publicize our existence and what we have to offer. This should keep our cash flow not only flowing, but more important, also growing.
