11 NovOpportunity is Knocking

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
Albert Einstein

Many companies have struggled in the turbulence of the passing recession because they assumed our industry would be as recession proof as it had in the past. That approach bred overconfidence, which probably led to a postponement of needed corrections, and only made the struggles worse. Many companies have been forced to leave the industry as a result of these financial struggles.

There has also been a shift in the psyche of the consumer as well. Do-It-For-Me is changing back into Do-It-Yourself once again. Bigger is now smaller as consumers seek to right-size their lives and budgets.  Consumers are spending more time in and around their home. They want to improve their surroundings and are completing smaller projects around the home that add beauty and value.

All these changes have caused much pain for companies as they seek to refine inventories and align strategies to meet the changes in consumer behavior. Consumers are also looking at things through a new set of glasses. They want too make their lives simpler and more basic. They have a new more grounded value system and want to be more connected to nature and have more interest in sustainability and eco-friendly products.

Anyone hear an opportunity knocking here for our industry? I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of too many other industries that should benefit more from these changes. If you can communicate effectively how your company and your products are in sync with this new mindset and values, you should be able to provide a compelling value proposition that will restore growing sales and profits to your company.

If you have ideas or suggestions on how our industry can meet this challenge we would love to hear them.