Business Monitor Lockdown 3.0 Lockdown 3.0
On, Monday, January 4, Prime Minister Boris Johnson plunged England into its third lockdown. In this article, marketing expert, Paul Clapham, outlines how you can take the positives from the current situation.
I
was going to do precisely what Boris Johnson is telling us not to – get too hung ho about our expectations now we have the vaccine. Actually, we’ve got three; just like buses – wait for a year and three come along all at once. But I don’t mind doing the opposite of Boris’s demands – he doesn’t do what I want, either.
Then along came lockdown number three. So, in all honesty how bad has COVID-19 been for you and yours. In the past week I’ve heard a number of people say something like ‘suppose it hasn’t been that bad really’. That’s typically British – some of us would say that about an unexpected volcanic eruption in the garden. The latest lockdown has been our third and yet we don’t appear to have learned much from numbers one and two – ‘it will go away eventually’ is pretty much it – cold comfort, then. Personally, I don’t aim to go wild regardless of how good things get in the coming weeks because there is much to wait for, not all of it pleasant.
The positives Let’s look at some positives, nonetheless. Big is no longer beautiful. Along with many others I found myself using small shops for the first time in years and enjoying the experience. By contrast supermarkets demonstrated that they are soulless and not always the best deal. Some big retailers have gone bust and I think that combination is why. We have developed the habit of doing good. Will it grind to a halt or continue with rising enthusiasm? With caution I predict the latter. That is partly because the younger generation is right behind the principle. But will their passion last? I’d say ‘not for ever’, but that is based on past experience, it’s possible that the rising generation will stick to their guns. Businesses should be encouraged (via the till) to go on being good. If they don’t, they will be punished at the till instead.
In the same way we have spent more time on a fitness regime. Will that continue to thrive? If it lasts through winter all that newly rediscovered running and cycling should indeed continue. I have seen lots of dads cycling with their kids (mums too but this is especially a dad thing). For all sorts of reasons it would be good if that lasts.
I have also seen a number of comments saying that it’s high time to give youth its chance. There is no doubt that those in their teens and twenties have had the worst of COVID: no permanent
| 22 | February 2021
home apart from the family home; no job or prospect of one when leaving school or university; an escalating university debt and the certainty that the money committed by Rishi Sunak to solve the immediate financial problems will have to be repaid and guess who’s going to have their hands in their pockets for that?
A bum deal Overall, it’s a bum deal and it’s time to level the playing field. Unfortunately, the older generation don’t see it that way. ‘I’ve earned my good pension and spent my own money to get this house’, is much closer to their viewpoint. Good luck with being the government that aims to square that circle. As always happens when there is a recession, a significant growth in self-employment is on the cards. The chances are that far more of them will be prospective customers than competitors for garment decorators. You need to tell these people who you are and where you are. Do it soon using your product. I would use the tone ‘just started in business? You need shirts like these’ and your phone number. This is no time to be understated. I would also see what your local newspaper is doing. Do they maybe have a regular feature for newly established businesses – they ought to but ho, hum lots of people just can’t see opportunities.
I should mention that a fair number of people are going the other way round. Frankly I would not have thought there are enough jobs out there. Maybe they just find being self-employed lonely – it’s a regular complaint.
Growth in acquisition
Mergers and acquisitions are supposed to be going to grow in a big way. The principle is that it’s a no-brainer as a way to protect a business threatened by COVID. The experts say that M&A represent a way to grow market share or achieve economies of scale and overall protect jobs and companies. That may be true, but if it is, how come it’s not standard practice? It is at the big business end of the market, but it is seriously underused by SMEs whose need is similar. It is not a question of shortage of funds. Businesses which have seen sales under pressure are instead of their normal organic growth are looking at buying growth. Apparently, the private equity industry has more than a trillion dollars to fund acquisitions, and that ain’t hay. That also means a lot of money ready to find its way into some large bonuses. The city is smaller than Wall Street but it’s no midget.
www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
