Your leading vendors can also be an excellent source of up-to-date market knowledge. Be sure to ask for their input and whether they can provide low-cost or no-cost marketing or advertising support. They want you to succeed so you can pay them and help them grow over time. Financial Processors. If your business accepts credit card purchases, speak to the bank that processes them for you. See if they will reduce the percentage they take. Offer discounts to your customers for cash payments if it makes good sense.

Drive Down Costs and Accentuate Growth Investments. Take a look at all your expenses. Can you cut them by ten percent or more without really affecting your business? After you have considered all of the above suggestions, turn your thoughts toward the positive side. Maybe now is the time to take aggressive measures to increase business revenues. After all, your competition is cutting back and downturns do not last forever.

By reacting positively, your business may not only improve today, it will also have a head start on tomorrow. (These steps assume you can get an early indication on how to reposition your business in a changing marketplace.) Some Proactive Measures. Here are some proactive measures to integrate into your three plans.