Note: Our seven sickly cows articles are a series of posts dealing with moving past the bad economic conditions that defined business since late in 2008. In particular, we are talking about marketing for an emerging economy. To see our previous articles,

Last week I talked about defining who you are as a business. To review, this is answering a fundamental question about the way your company will go about its business and, in particular, the premise from which you market to your customers. This week I want to talk about your customers. In particular, I want to talk about what your customers look like coming out of the past six years of the worst economy in 70 years.

The seven sickly cows (2008-2014) came with the cost of lost businesses, specifically small businesses that are the supply chain of enterprise. Between 2008 and 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that over 220,000 small businesses employing 3.1 million people closed their doors*. That just covers the first two years of the six years of the bad economy. Who replaces those products and services as we begin to pick up the pieces and move past all of this? Here is where your customer base needs to be redefined. There is an emerging opportunity to become part of the new supply chain if you are smart enough to find the gaps in that supply chain and expand to meet them. This is where marketing comes into play. Expansion of product lines or service offerings have to be clearly communicated to potential customers.

But let’s say your customer base is still the same old people. You might be thinking, "I have been doing business with the same customers for years.” That may be true, but historically, whenever we come out of a recession of any length of time the expectations and demands of your customers will also change. Doing business with the same people in the same way you did it before the Great Recession is different than the way you will do business with them afterwards. There are two areas of concern coming out of down economic times. One is pricing - in other words, when can I or should I raise my prices? The other has to do with quality. These two push and pull against each other; great quality OR lower costs. That is the thinking of the pre-Great Recession business. As we emerge from the Great Recession years, it is not an "either/or” proposition with customers. It is a "both/and” proposition. In other words, the market demands that the price is low and it is great quality.

For instance, one of the demands coming out of a recession is that low prices will remain in place. The internet has made it very easy to shop for the lowest price. We have apps to help us find the cheapest price on all kinds of products and services. We also have social media in place to read reviews on the quality of your offerings. In the emerging economy, Price and Quality have to work hand in hand, not as polar opposites to each other. How is this achieved? It is all built with marketing. If you are not involved with social media and internet marketing tactics that are driven by public opinion, get there. Don’t let price be the only consideration of your customers. Your marketing has to convince them to value quality. You build that through customer reviews, case studies, and followers on your social media sites that truly like your products and services. On the flip side of the coin, social media is a great place to announce sales and special pricing. Give your target market a reason to follow you.

The bottom line is that bad economies demand all of us to change if we are to continue in business. It is not only about surviving the bad years, it is about recognizing your new customer base when the economy picks back up. That requires a change on your part. Your marketing has to communicate all of this.

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* Economy lost more than 200,000 small businesses in recession, Census shows, Fox News.com, July 26, 2012