Bobette Kyle 
The business of marketing -- meeting needs profitably -- means recognizing and responding to customer priorities while controlling your own expenses. More so than ever, it is about giving people what they want when and how they want it. Today's empowered consumers want to be in charge -- asked, not told. Give them what they want and you'll be rewarded.
Nice concept, right? One problem: in a changing economy, your customers' priorities and needs change as well. They are juggling budgets or otherwise re-planning to compensate for the tight economy and their needs are changing at each unexpected economic curveball. How can you understand what they will need when they themselves aren't sure? One approach is to first get "ahead of the curve" by predicting the changes in your customers' priorities, then go forward based on customer input.
Predicting Changes in Customer Priorities
Admittedly, predictions can be wildly inaccurate, but companies that come out on top are those who proactively understanding evolving customer needs. So, how does one approach predicting change? By logically thinking through the ramifications of -- in this case -- a weakening economy.
As budgets get squeezed, individuals and businesses will cut back on luxuries. But basic needs must be met. Plus, some will substitute smaller-scale, less expensive luxuries. What does this mean? Some products and services will actually thrive and grow in a tight economy. Understanding what opportunities this presents to you involves knowing your customers and their needs; logically working through their dilemma of reduce spending and lower budgets; and accurately hypothesizing which substitutes will attract more dollars. At the end of that process you will have a list of potential marketing responses to the weak economy.
An Example of Customer Change
Say you specialize in health & beauty items and your best customers are spas. The spas' best customers -- your consumers -- are middle class women with enough disposable income to spend on regular manicures, pedicures, skin treatments, and the like. Your logic may flow like this:
What happens when people must put more money each week toward gas or higher food prices and disposable income drops? Spending drops, most significantly on luxuries. This means fewer trips to the spa. The spas will see a decrease in services, which means fewer orders for me (uh oh). But, my consumers will still be caring for their nails and skin in some way. Maybelline from Walgreens is a viable option, but human nature being what it is, this will probably not be a desirable early option. What substitutes will those consumers turn to for nail and skin care?
At this point you've uncovered an opportunity stemming from higher gas or food prices: the need to feel pampered at a lower cost. You can brainstorm ways to fill that need -- work with the spas to provide a reduced service, come out with a line of spa-quality retail packs customers can purchase at the spas, etc. -- but getting the consumers and customers involved is the only way to really know what will work. Customer Research and Development
The traditional way to get customers and consumers involved is through qualitative and quantitative research. Customers today, however, like to be in more direct control of the product or service they receive. This is spurring a new approach to development and research. Most notably, entrepreneur Ben Kaufman has fully embraced this approach with the recently launched Kluster, a collaborative platform that brings consumers together for the entire product development process, to the point that customers actually develop the products. (I am in no way connected to the project, by the way.) The company tag line, "Stop telling people what's new and start asking them what's next," encompasses what today's consumer is all about.
If you continually take this approach -- understanding consumers' changing needs and getting them involved in the process of adequately fulfilling those needs -- then you will never be at a loss for growth opportunities.
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Bobette Kyle draws upon nearly 20 years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and a marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. She has been publishing the marketing plan and Website promotion site www.WebsiteMarketingPlan.com since 2001. You can find more of her marketing and business strategy articles at:
http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/techniques
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