A rough economy can be good for business… if what you sell is a way for people to enhance their skills and gain advantage in the job market. Schools all over report strong demand from a wide variety of constituents.
Discovering a tight entry-level job market, more high school graduates are heading to campus rather than the help-wanted section… and even students who had dropped out of school are dropping back in (see this story from MSNBC). Fighting to stay relevant in a more competitive workplace, even middle-aged and older workers are heading back to the classroom in a search for advantage… either to help them preserve their current job or make themselves marketable for the next opportunity.
Implications: This new student body isn’t necessarily buying education. It is buying relevance. It strives to be marketable in a more competitive workplace. In some cases, it sees education as a save haven while the economy shakes out. It seeks to discover what new demands the economy will place on its available workforce… and it seeks to acquire the skills that can supply that demand.
Think of the power behind this mentality… and ask how your company, product or service might harness that power.
If you’re an automotive service center, recognize that people cannot afford to be sitting on the side of the road, late for work, due to a breakdown; this labor market may not show mercy, regardless for the reason an employee is late.
If you sell clothing, realize that the incentive for looking sharp is very strong right now. (In a world where layoffs are being decided, I don’t want to be seen as the least best dressed.)
If you sell technology tools (laptops, mobile phones, PDAs), realize that the promise of doing more—and in less time—is a promise that may get my attention.
And regardless of what you sell… if you can offer expertise or know-how as a value-added component to my purchase, that is an advantage I’ll be interested in.
We’re not just going back to school. We’re gravitating to anything that might give us a competitive edge.
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