It's Not Back To The Future

A recent quote from McKinsey Consultants e-newsletter could not have said it better.

"Companies that follow the playbook from past recessions will probably chase markets and segments made less attractive by the present downturn and focus too many resources on traditional marketing vehicles and front line salespeople. To avoid these costly mistakes, marketing and sales executives must dynamically reassess their geographic, customer, advertising, and sales force priorities, with constant attention to the ever-shifting economics of this downturn."

The game has changed so much since the last downturn. Business needs to take the time to assess where they are going, who they are best to be talking to, and what marketing tools are the most efficient and effective at making an impact.

This means you have to have some means of assessing or measuring your consumer, market and industry performance. Your "front-end" thinking needs to be recalibrated in this new world to keep you competitive, differentiated and sustainable going forward.