Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

Don't expect finding opportunity during bad economic times to be easy. It requires rolling up your sleeves and doing your homework.
July 8, 2008

By Richard Lebovitz

If you've been reading Promotional Impressions for a while, you know that the vertical markets we cover represent moving targets. Among other factors, they're subject to the ups and downs of the business cycle and to industry structural change. In addition, when the economy's good, a particular market may offer a large, inviting target. But when it stumbles, as many are currently doing, you may have to roll up your sleeves and do a lot more research to uncover opportunity.

I decided to spend part of my summer vacation catching up on my business reading, and in so doing, I came across several potential opportunities you might want to consider during this time of unrelentingly bad economic news. As a professional promotional consultant, you're probably already looking for the silver lining in this dark cloud. Perhaps these few suggestions will hasten your discovery.

1. Institutions are more recession-resistant than private enterprises. If you don't already have a foot in the door of your local schools, government agencies, medical facilities or churches, you probably should consider adding these prospective markets to your customer list.
 
Quick facts:
•    Institutions account for $4.1 trillion in annual spending, accounting for one-third of U.S. GDP in 2005.
•    Institutions are bigger than businesses, averaging 22.3 employees vs. 16.9 employees in the average business.
•    Institutions are more stable than businesses, which close at nearly twice the rate of institutions.
•    Institutional employment growth has outpaced business employment growth and is projected to grow to 56.6 million employees in 2014 from 49.6 million in 2005.
Source: MCH Discover B2i

2. Markets involving children — schools, camps, sports teams — may be more vibrant during downturns than adult markets. "We've found that the dollar a parent spends on a child is the last dollar they will cut," Peg Smith, CEO of the American Camp Association told Businessweek (May 26, 2008).

Quick facts:
•    More than 12,000 day and resident camps exist in the United States
•    Each year more than 11 million children and adults attend camp.
•    Nonprofit groups including youth agencies and religious organizations operate approximately 8,000 camps, and 4,000 are privately owned independent for-profit operators.
•    Camps employ more than 1.2 million adults to work as counselors, program/activity leaders, etc.
Source: American Camp Association

3. Go granular. Bright spots may exist even in declining markets. The financial industry is clearly suffering, but with thousands of boomers retiring, there's never been a greater need for financial consultants. Also, with soaring gas prices at the pump, the search is on for new oil sources, as well as alternative power. Opportunities for promotional products may exist in the field of oil and gas extraction and in the solar and wind power industries. In that regard, don’t ignore the role of the green movement in marketing. For an overview of the products and processes available in the decorated apparel industry, take at look at Impressions’ new digital supplement, ecoimpressions.

4. Look for budding new markets, such as the spa or yoga markets.

Quick facts:
•    As of July 2007, there were 14,615 spas in the United States, up 6% from 2006.
•    In July 2007, there were 234,600 total spa employees.
•    There were more than 32 million active spa-goers in 2006, altogether making 110 million spa visits.
•    In 2006, $9.4 billion of revenue was generated by the U.S. spa industry.
Source: International SPA Association

5. Finally, don’t stop serving your current customers. You can bet they need your expertise in products, price points and solutions more than ever.

To comment on this editorial or other promotional products issues, e-mail rlebovitz@impressionsmag.com