You owe it to your employees and customers to turn a profit during the coming recession.
We all know it by now—when a pandemic hits, a recession usually follows. So much has changed over the last few months since COVID-19 broke out and economies are starting to feel the effects of the lockdown.
Everyone is going to be pinching pennies. This recession is going to hit individuals, families and businesses harder than anything we have ever seen. There’s no denying that, even for a short time, everyone is going to look for any way to save money.
But consumers will feel the biggest hit, especially when a recession does happen. if you’re a debt relief business, this is the time that you can step up and help people who will need your services after this pandemic is over. You still have a duty to profit during the coming recession and you can do so strategically. Here’s how:
Be Strategic With Discounts
This is where you can get ahead of the curve. Offer discounts NOW! not after every other debt relief merchant account in the country. Do it now and lock in customers before things get hairy. Of course your best bet is to offer discounts on services that keep customers locked in longer. Start offing discounts now and ensure you are the “go-to” debt relief business.
Look Good By Doing The Right Thing
The way your company handles this crisis will define it in the future. Consumers are going to look at how businesses navigated this issue and use that as a test of a company character, moral and ethics. When you create your discount (mentioned above) be sure to market that discount as for those who are affected by the recession. Make that part of the pitch… and mean it.
Don’t shrug this off as some crazy incident that is testing just your business, remember this is testing the world, this is stressful for every human on the planet. Consider donating to charities, consider getting involved and be sure your message is clear. You are here to help.
Give Credit Counseling
According to studies, only 40% of consumers work with a budget plan, but even the savviest ones will be sidetracked by the sudden change in spending dynamics due to the lockdown. When this is all over, a lot of people will be scrambling to get back on track and find themselves not having enough money to pay off all the bills that have been put on hold.
As a debt relief company, it is your job to offer credit counseling to help consumers see their current financial status and work on a budget that will allow them to ease back into their routine, especially if their work has been affected by the lockdown. The more good you do, the more opportunity to profit during the coming recession.
Negotiate on Behalf of Your Client
Everyone’s already been struggling because of the lockdown and after this is over, a lot of people will continue to struggle financially because they lost their job, their savings have been used up for their needs and their bills have been piled up. It’s already hard enough to be in debt before a recession and a lot harder when it happens.
But this is when you should come along to help clients settle their debt by negotiating on their behalf to ease the emotional and psychological burden of having to do things themselves. You can talk to creditors and try to negotiate with them to at least reduce the amount that your client owes so it’s more feasible to pay them back. A lot of these creditors will be more considerate because of the circumstances and especially because they need to get back some money fast to rebuild their own businesses.
Assist a Client in Filing for Bankruptcy
When all else fails and the effects of the lockdown have been too much on your client’s finances, you can assist with filing for bankruptcy after you already tried every possible option. Although this is considered the absolute last choice, filing for bankruptcy is not uncommon during a recession.
At least, it will give your client a second chance to rebuild his finances and hopefully, learn from his mistakes and be smarter with money this time.
The Bottomline: You Can & Should Profit During The Coming Recession The Right Way
Turning a profit during the coming recession is a moral good and a necessity. If there is one thing that this pandemic will teach consumers, it is the importance of always being ready for the worst. Coming into 2020, no one would have ever guessed that a lockdown would happen and now, everyone is scrambling to adjust to this new norm of staying at home, working from home and waiting it out until the pandemic is over.
So more than earning good profits during this difficult time, it’s very important as a debt relief company to help offer smart solutions to help consumers get back on track after this is done.
