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Running a business is hard even in the best of times. When the economy stagnates or shrinks, that task becomes more difficult. In such periods, demand generally falls, and revenues decline along with them. Many companies struggle to stay afloat. Because times like these are an inevitable part of the economic cycle, building a recession-proof business is always a good idea.

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If you want your venture to achieve decent performances in a widespread financial crisis, you may learn a few things about how to do so from organizations that have weathered economic storms in the past. In this article, we’ll distil some of those lessons into easily digestible points. Here they are:

Follow Changes in Consumer Behaviour

Companies that thrive during recessions tend to be those that can adapt to changes in consumer behaviour. A lot of the time, this means offering products that customers regard as relatively affordable. You could do this by implementing cost-saving measures. Those may include renegotiating vendor agreements and cutting out non-essential paid services. Zero in on the things that your customers value in a downturn—whether it’s affordability or convenience –and deliver that to the extent you can.

Connect with Customers on an Emotional Level

If you can make an emotional impression on customers, they could eventually become loyal to your brand. More often than not, humans act based on their feelings. Convincing them to continue buying your products or using your services may therefore require that you appeal to their emotions. You can do this with marketing that addresses them directly and powerfully resonates with them. Also, nurturing a community around your brand is a strategy for building emotional bonds with customers.

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Intensify Engagement on Digital Channels

During recessions, traditional advertising becomes a hefty expense for smaller businesses. Instead of devoting scarce resources to non-targeted advertisement campaigns, why not ramp up your activity on digital channels? Combining organic approaches (e.g. sharing useful content and conversing with followers) and paid online adverts might help you stay top of mind for potential and existing customers. That in turn should boost your chances of sustaining sales at moderate levels.

Upskill in Periods of Limited Activity

When there’s a particularly bad recession, many businesses record much lower activity. But downtimes aren’t for idling. They are periods you could spend upskilling yourself and your staff. No little opportunity for self-improvement should go to waste. Strengthening the skills of employees at a business tends to lead to increases in productivity. That’s something you’ll want for your business while it’s navigating a challenging economic environment. It will also be crucial for growth in the longer term.

Take a Long Term View

Many businesses (especially the smaller ones) get so caught up in the realities of a current recession that they lose sight of a future beyond their immediate problems. But it’s important to have a long-term view of things. When you remember that periods of economic bust are temporary, you’ll be more motivated to push past present troubles into a better tomorrow. The courage and visionary thinking that this can breed will be important ingredients for your business’s success.

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Final Words

Entrepreneurs who are devoted to building a recession-proof business need to pay attention to their customers, employees, systems, and economic environment. Their ability to effectively engage these aspects of their operations is vital for any holistic attempt at thriving in tough economic times. But companies that have emerged from recessions intact are often those with a long-term perspective on the industry. You should take the same approach if you’re trying to pull your business out of a recession-related slowdown.

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This article was first published on 19th March 2025
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ikenna-nwachukwu

Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.