FACT, we live in ever changing, chaotic, uncertain difficult economic times.
FACT, consumer confidence is down and the “Consumer Sentiment Index” continues to dive.
FACT, bankruptcies have nearly doubled from 2007 – 2010.
FACT, cost of living continues to rise with no end in sight.
FACT, consumers have pulled the pin on endless spending.
FACT, consumers have been burdened by 7 Reserve Bank rate increases since September 2009.
FACT, competition is fierce with consumers bombarded with up to 5,000 marketing messages per day.
FACT, the cost of getting a client today has doubled, even tripled and results are down.
FACT, the power is squarely in the hands of the consumer to buy or not to buy.
FACT, the consumer is distracted, nervous apprehensive and confused.
(These FACTS are subject to change based on where you have found them and timing.)

I could go on… but I won’t. What’s important is how you respond to these FACTS. Simply, the old ways of doing business that saw you live “high on the hob” in the past, will not feed you in the style you have become accustomed to in the future.

Bottom line, our economy has been good to you in the past and tolerated your meagre efforts, your lack of marketing skills, your lack of customer service and your reluctance to change.

In fact, if you have any intensions of surviving all this, you are going to need to embrace change, the sooner the better before it is too late. But a caveat, RIGHT CHANGE, not just change for the sake of it.

FACT, searches on Google increased from 2.7 Billion in 2006 to over 33 Billion in 2009
FACT, spending over 100 billion making the Internet the new feasting ground for shoppers
FACT, 97% of consumers use online searches when researching products or services
FACT, the new “Word of Mouth” is online social media like Facebook and Twitter
FACT, Facebook and Twitter have nearly 750 million members combined
FACT, those members seek and make recommendations for products and services
FACT, 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
FACT, YouTube is NOW the second largest search engine on the planet
FACT, YouTube gets 300 million visitors per month who watch over 2 billion videos
FACT, There are more than 200 million blogs
FACT, 19.2 million Aussies have mobile phones and 20% of them are smart phones with internet access
FACT, 152 billion text messages were sent in a single month recently
FACT, 90% of those text messages are read within one minute of receiving them
FACT, according to Yahoo, 92% of business searches start online
FACT, only 26% of small business have invested any time and effort in marketing online
FACT, your prospects and clients are searching online to find businesses they can trust to buy from
FACT, marketing online isn’t an option anymore, it’s an absolute necessity that you get it right
(These FACTS are subject to change based on where you have found them and timing.)

The good news is there is still time to figure this all out and get established before it is too late.

And, the Internet is the greatest money making breakthrough in our lifetime, the Internet really is the money making, “Cash Spewing” opportunity the dreamers said it was.

We have clients doing 10’s of thousands, 100’s of thousands and millions of dollars online annually for products and services they would have normally bought from a traditional media outlet.

Basically, things won’t change and improve unless you do. Today, like never before you will be rewarded for your level of SKILL, more specifically, your MARKETING and SALES SKILLS. You know Mike Tyson had an incredible SKILL, Boxing, but when that SKILL left him, everything left him.

Mike Tyson had an ephemeral SKILL that is it dissolved or evaporated as he aged. Now even though he earned in access of 300 million in his career and he is dead broke with little or no chance of recreating his wealth.

So my definition of REAL WEALTH is a “timeless enduring SKILL that delivers value to others that can’t be taken away from you in the future. Marketing and sales SKILLS will separate more than ever, successful rich people from broke, mediocre and average people”.

So you are going to need to MASTER CERTAIN SKILLS or you will pay a tax. And the better you are at something, the more you will get paid. And to get paid the most, you must be the best.

The good news is, every master was once a disaster.

EVERYTHING I am good at today is because I invested enough time, money and effort to be good at it, EVERYTHING I’m still bad at is because I never invested enough time money and energy to be good at it.

And once you are a master, you must remain current in an ever changing world. After all, years ago when Tiger Woods won the Masters by 12 strokes, he changed his swing. Why? To stay ahead of the pack, to improve and get better, he wanted to stay relevant and current.

Then a few years later, after winning 4 majors in a row, he changes his swing yet again because again, he wanted to stay current and relevant.

So if you are reading this and think you are doing okay, I’m warning you if you are not running your business as if it is in chaos in this ever changing global economy, you will be in chaos.

That’s enough for now, 4 more DANGEROUS TRENDS to follow soon.

All the best,

Mal Emery.