How to deal with the cost of living crisis

Everyone I met with at the moment talks to me about the impact of the cost of living crisis. The reality is, it's a reality for 99% of people. Even if it is not having a huge impact, it will have some impact on most households.

Now in the last 2 years we have overcome a pandemic and upheaval in every part of life. And just as we did then, we can adapt and overcome now.

Today I want to share with you my top tips for overcoming the current situation along with some practical steps you can take today.

But before we go any further- my biggest piece of advice is do not bury your head. Now is not the time to sit back and ignore what is going on. That is unless you don't care about your business- not the case? I thought so!

Step 1
Go back to your client profile. The first thing to do is to understand what impact the cost of living crisis is having on your client. 
Are they:

• Struggling to meet day to day expenses?
• Comfortable but wary?
• Not feeling any impact?

Once we know how our clients are feeling we can then identify what needs they are prioritising.
As humans we have different needs, and we will always focus on meeting the base levels of important needs before anything else, i.e. Level 1 and 2 must be met before we strive for level 3. Level 3 must be met before we strive for level 4.

Basic Needs- Level 1
These are our basic survival needs- food, warmth, shelter, water and rest. These must be fulfilled before we even consider anything else. If money is exceptionally tight your clients will be focusing on these needs first.

Level 2
Security and safety. Feeling safe and secure in the following areas of our life: personal, financial, emotional and health.

Level 3
Intimacy and relationships.
This is where we start to interact with others and begin to focus on friendships, connections, relationships. We focus on the need to trust and be accepted by others.

Level 4
Respect from others.
At this level we long for acceptance, status, recognition, fame and prestige.

Level 5
Creativity.
This is where we want to achieve everything we can, be creative and feel accomplished.

The first question to ask yourself is:

Next steps

Once we understand what our clients needs are we then need to consider 4 aspects of the marketing ingredients- product, pricing, messaging and experience

Now I'm sure you don't have hours to read a huge blog post, so I'm going to keep the next steps simple- if you want to go a little deeper then please access my latest Marketing Toolkit video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KtOPwjltVk​

Products
Once you understand your customers needs, the next step is to ensure that you are offering products and services to meet their needs. The best way to do this is to consider what products and services you offer and list every need they meet.  Do they meet the same needs that your customer is currently focused on? If not what could you offer that does meet their needs?

Pricing
If money is tight you need to work out how much money your customers have to spend, and whether the value and benefit of your products and services justify the costs? 

Messaging
Our messaging is key at times of crisis. We need to ensure our messaging conveys the value and benefits of our products and services. We also need to clearly relate our products to our clients needs. This may involve pivoting your messaging.

For example if you offer holistic massages, traditionally these are seen as luxury items relating to the high level needs. However if you change your message and show that your massages can help with emotional support and welfare, you will be targeting the need of Security and Safety. This will then attract clients who are focusing on the basic needs, instead of the luxury ones.

Another example is marketing- you could go and teach yourself marketing techniques for free (even just based on the knowledge I provide) however if I told you that by purchasing the Marketing Analysis session I will show you strategies tailored to your business to achieve long term security, you are more likely to buy if money is tight.

Experience
Finally the experience you offer can have a huge impact on how much you sell right now. 
If you tailor your experience to your clients needs right now- through offering things such as instalment plans or group programs, you will be meeting more than one of your clients needs.
For example, an instalment plan will meet the additional need of financial security. A group program would meet the need of social interaction.
Therefore by adjusting the experience you offer your clients you will be meeting more of their needs than just offering the standard product and service. Therefore your clients will be more likely to purchase from you as they are getting 'added value'.

The tips I have shared here are just a few of the ways you can adapt to overcome the cost of living crisis. If you would like further assistance or to book a Marketing Analysis session where we can identify the key steps you need to take to ensure your business survives, then please click here to learn more.

Marketing is fluid and changes and at times of crisis, we as business owners need to be responsive and adapt.

I would love to know how you are overcoming the crisis and what changes you have made? Please comment below and tell me.

In the meantime take care and I look forward to sharing more tips soon.

​Carrie x