It is nice to arrive at work this morning to find that the economy grew 2% in the third quarter. Details will be seen in most national news reports today, but here’s one version from the Washington Post (click to link).
Implications: My enthusiasm for this good news is tempered a bit by the reality that these are “overall” numbers, and might not be felt by all consumers nor all companies.
Working with colleague Stephanie Downs and a team of marketing pros at the Palm Beach Post, we conducted an Elm Street Economics workshop for a few dozen companies in the Palm Beach/West Palm Beach area on Wednesday of this week. And that group agreed with this consensus: Just as the recession impacted every household in different ways and to different degrees, not every household will benefit from the recovery at the same time or in the same way.
We were also reminded, through man- and woman-on-the-street interviews with actual consumers, that some of the habits people picked-up during the recession might stay with them for some time to come. And that while most people think they are more frugal now, they are still open to making "exceptions" to their generally more prudent lifestyle.
Embrace this great news, and carry on with the work of understanding the customers you have, the additional target consumers you seek, and the benefits they deeply desire when they purchase the product or service you sell.
Mike Anderson
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