Marketers See Economic Uncertainty as an Opportunity for Growth

Marketers See Economic Uncertainty as an Opportunity for Growth

Last year’s record inflation and the ongoing economic uncertainty have led to speculations of a possible recession. As such, many industries and business leaders are moving ahead with caution. But how do marketers look at this scenario? RRD recently conducted a study to gain some insights. Among the events that affected the world last year, record inflation and economic uncertainties have been notable, leading to speculations and concerns about a possible recession. While this economic uncertainty has affected different sectors and job functions across geographies in different ways, most businesses and business leaders are moving ahead with caution. Amid these concerns, how are marketers looking at this economic downturn, and how are they approaching print and digital strategies this year? R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) recently surveyed 300 in-house marketing decision-makers to gain insights. A key finding is that marketers are viewing this economic uncertainty as a catalyst for growth. The following are the key findings in detail. About 73% of surveyed marketers said their companies looked at the economic downturn or recession as a strategic opportunity to grow their market share by increasing marketing spending. There have been significant discussions about marketing budget cuts due to economic […]

Microsoft to Lay Off 10,000 Workers as Slowdown Hits Software Business

Microsoft to Lay Off 10,000 Workers as Slowdown Hits Software Business

After a period of aggressive hiring to meet heightened demand for online services during the pandemic, tech companies are now laying off many of those workers. And tech bosses are saying ‘mea culpa’ for the miscalculation. WSJ reporter Dana Mattioli joins host Zoe Thomas to talk through the shift and what it all means for the tech sector going forward. Microsoft Corp. MSFT -1.89% said Wednesday it plans to eliminate 10,000 jobs in response to the global economic slowdown, the company’s largest layoffs in more than eight years and the latest in a string of cuts from big technology companies. The software company’s chief executive, Satya Nadella, wrote that the layoffs would happen before the end of March and affect less than 5% of the company’s worldwide workforce. The last time Microsoft laid off that many people was in 2014, when 18,000 employees lost their jobs as the company pulled out of cellphones and other noncore businesses. In a blog post to employees, Mr. Nadella pointed to the shaky economy, telling employees that companies globally had begun to “exercise caution as some parts of the world are in a recession and other parts are anticipating one.” He added that […]

Connect Your Sustainability Goals to Your Business Performance

Connect Your Sustainability Goals to Your Business Performance

Sustainability is increasingly taking a core position in framing business strategy. But success requires more than good intentions. Sustainable transformation may call for broad changes to an organization’s business models, operations, financial practices, and partner ecosystems—an undertaking whose complexity reaches beyond the knowledge an organization may keep in-house. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to sustainable transformation. A retailer and a cement company don’t have the same needs or strategies. Even within an organization, every operation—risk and compliance, procurement and supply chain, production and operations, marketing and sales—has its own goals to meet. Meaningful transformation requires organizations to coordinate and implement measures across all business functions and throughout their value chain. They need to show the proof points through concrete performance metrics. And they need to mobilize their workforce and their business partners, applying corporate social responsibility policies that demonstrate acceptable returns on investment (ROI). But with sustainability issues becoming ever more complex, requiring ever more expert knowledge and the collaboration of many players, a go-it-alone approach may not yield optimal results. A strong partnership with a knowledgeable consultant can bring invaluable environmental, operational, and financial expertise to help create and execute a strategy that pays real dividends for the company, […]

Selling In The Modern Age? 16 Tips For Success According To Business Experts

Selling In The Modern Age? 16 Tips For Success According To Business Experts

Though selling has evolved from bartering for resources to exchanging currency for products and services, the fact remains that salespeoples’ approach to selling hasn’t necessarily evolved with it. This is especially true when a strategy has worked time and time again. However, as times change, so do customers. Being open to adopting new methods to capture potential customers and retain current ones helps ensure that a salesperson is able to foster long-term business relationships. To help salespeople embrace varying selling practices, 16 Forbes Business Council members each share one piece of advice for the “modern salesperson.” Members pictured from left to right. Photos courtesy of the individual members. 1. Remain Empathetic And Consistent The art of selling is not about the product or service you are selling. It is about the person’s ability to be empathic with customers by understanding their needs and offering solutions for those needs as well as consistently turning every "no” into an opportunity to improve the selling points. Business is made by people, so a buying decision can still be influenced by emotions. – Magda Paslaru , THE RAINBOWIDEA 2. Build Rapport With Potential Customers Build a personal rapport with potential customers first before […]

Study says red states smash blue states as the best for business start-ups

Study says red states smash blue states as the best for business start-ups

Small business owners explain why banning gas stoves isn’t for everyone 00:00 00:0004:06GO LIVE Facebook Twitter Email Embed SpeedNormal Autoplay WalletHub’s "2023’s Best & Worst States to Start a Business" it out, and suggests that if you want to start a business, you should target red states. In this study, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 27 key indicators of startup success to determine the most fertile grounds in which to launch and grow an enterprise . The top five best states to start a business, beginning with #1, are: Utah, Florida, Texas, Colorado, and Idaho . Just one of these, Colorado, is under Democrat control. The top five worst states to start a business, beginning with #46, are: Rhode Island, New Jersey, West Virginia, Connecticut, and Alaska. Just two of these, West Virginia and Alaska, are under Republican control, and Alaska has unique geography and climate. The three broad categories used to reach this conclusion are: business environment, access to resources, and business cost. Of the three, the only category that had a strong showing from blue states was "access to resources." "Business environment" was calculated by comparing data such as five-year business survival rate, job growth, and […]

Trump confirms efforts to return to Facebook, says ban was ‘major business mistake’

Trump confirms efforts to return to Facebook, says ban was ‘major business mistake’

Former President Trump shared his efforts to return back to social media platform Facebook, saying in an interview that his ban from the social media platform was a “major business mistake.” Trump confirmed his latest push in an interview with Fox News published Wednesday, claiming that the social media platform, owned by Meta Inc., lost $700 billion since he was banned. “If they took us back, it would help them greatly, and that’s okay with me,” Trump told Fox News. “But they need us more than we need them.” Trump also told the media outlet that various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram made a “major business mistake” by banning him. Trump was banned from Twitter and Facebook a day after the Jan 6., 2021 attack at the Capitol, where a mob of his supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Before his suspension, Trump and officials in his administration had been constantly spreading misinformation about the 2020 election results, alleging the election had been stolen from the former president. “It has been considered a major business mistake for them, Twitter, and others,” Trump added. This comes […]

A 24-year-old entrepreneur says working fewer hours and capping her revenue was the key to increasing her profits

A 24-year-old entrepreneur says working fewer hours and capping her revenue was the key to increasing her profits

Alice Benham realized restricting her revenue would improve the profits of her small business. Alice Benham’s digital-marketing business took off in 2020 after she launched an online course. But her profits suffered after she paid higher taxes and employed more staff to maintain revenue. Benham shared how she reorganized her finances to take home more money while working fewer hours. Sign up for our weekday newsletter, packed with original analysis, news, and trends — delivered right to your inbox. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Alice Benham, a marketing consultant, realized she needed to take an unconventional measure to rake in higher profits: reduce her revenue. Earlier in the pandemic, Benham said she invested "every hour" into her marketing-and-strategy business, which she started in 2016 at just 17 years old. Benham told Insider she launched her first online course in September 2020 and made £15,000, or about $18,400, on the first day, which was double […]

SF Business Owner Arrested After Caught Spraying Unhoused Person With Hose

SF Business Owner Arrested After Caught Spraying Unhoused Person With Hose

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Capitola business owners say Biden's visit to Santa Cruz County is critical to storm recovery

Capitola business owners say Biden’s visit to Santa Cruz County is critical to storm recovery

President Joe Biden is set to land in California on Thursday to visit areas impacted by the recent atmospheric river storm, which includes Santa Cruz County. CAPITOLA, Calif. — President Joe Biden is set to land in California on Thursday to visit areas impacted by the recent atmospheric river storm, which includes Santa Cruz County. One area in the county Biden plans to visit is Capitola. Restaurants in Capitola are among some of the businesses that were hit hardest by the storms. Dominic King, owner of Mai Thai restaurant in Capitola, is one business owner who’s facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. "It’s not just the incident itself, but it’s the how long the rebuilding is going to take. We’re going to have to be closed for a while," said King. King’s business is a family-owned restaurant that his mom opened up 14 years ago. This is the first year the business is being passed onto him, and he said it’s overwhelming to think about what lies ahead and how to pay for it. "We’ll need to replace all of our floors, a lot of our big equipment in the back. Like, pretty much all my refrigerators […]

A lot of fintechs “have to fix their business models,” say VCs who invest in fintech

A lot of fintechs “have to fix their business models,” say VCs who invest in fintech

Image Credits: Dan Brownsword (opens in a new window) / Getty Images In recent years, working for, or banking with, a traditional financial institution was decidedly uncool. Far cooler was working for or banking with one of the many fintech startups that seemed to thumb their nose at stodgy bank brands. Then the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, stocks tanked, and a lot of fintech outfits that appeared to be doing well began looking far less hardy and hale . The question begged now is whether fintech as a theme has lost its mojo. According to VCs Mercedes Bent of Lightspeed Venture Partners, Victoria Treyger of Felicis, and Jillian Williams of Cowboy Ventures, the answer is resoundingly “no.” In a panel discussion hosted by this editor late last week in San Francisco, however, the investors didn’t sugarcoat things. Led by moderator Reed Albergotti — technology editor of the news platform Semafor — all three acknowledged a variety of challenges in the industry right now, even as they outlined opportunities. On the challenges front, startups and their backers clearly got ahead of themselves during the pandemic, Albergotti suggested, observing that fintech was “going gangbusters” when “everyone was working from home” […]