The recent Global bank stocks slump has implications for all businesses

Following the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature banks, bank shares in Asia and Europe have slumped, despite the reassurances from Joe Biden. The volatility has led to speculation that the Federal Reserve will pause plans to raise interest rates, designed to halt inflation.

We should remember that post 2008 there was a focus on reforming banks considered “too big to fail” and the issues right now mainly focus on medium to smaller sized banks. There is a clear message about the failure of Silicon Valley and Signature banks in that they were mainly concentrated in one sector, and they came under pressure as the rise in interest rates affected asset values.

Understanding who your most valuable customers are helps focus your efforts to increase sales, but diversification is also important. Even if you have many customers, it’s risky if they are too similar and could be affected by a similar change in business or the market. For example, if your three largest customers are based in the US, an unfavourable change in the exchange rate could see them all drastically reduce their orders.

If you run a business, then the message is: “Diversify your customer base”. Here are some thoughts:

• increase your market share by widening your customer base in your existing markets,
• use information to understand your competitors and take advantage of any gaps in the market,
• grow through product and service development,
• grow through strategic partnering with other businesses, and
• grow through international trade.

The key question is: ”Do you have a Marketing Plan?”

Successful businesses all have two things in common: a thorough understanding of customer needs and a total dedication to their customers.

The logic is that you gather information about your business and get an insight into the way customers and prospective customers think and make ‘buy’ decisions. So, take a day out to work on your marketing plan and set some targets.

By the end, you should be in a position to:

• Have gathered information about existing and potential customers needs and wants;
• Have facilitated a discussion about the marketing actions the company should take;
• Know the unique selling points that your business has and how to take advantage of these;
• Understand how to differentiate the business from competitors; and
• Produce a marketing plan.

A marketing plan sets out how you are going to put your business strategy into practice. The marketing plan ensures that everyone in the business knows what you are trying to do and what they need to do to make it happen.