The start of "the recovery" turns two

I enjoyed the headline of this though-provoking post from Engage:  Affluent (a Marketing Daily blog).  It reminds us that the end of “the Great Recession” was fully two years ago, and that the recovery has now been underway for more than 24 months.  (Click here to see the story.)

Implications:    Over the past two months, I’ve had the chance to talk with consumers in New York, Minnesota, Florida, and Missouri.  A few suggest the economy is getting much, much better.  But many suggest that they’re not personally feeling the recovery yet.

How are your customers feeling about that question? 

Deciding when the recession has ended and whether the recovery is underway is a very personal issue, likely to happen one consumer at a time.  If they have reconciled their debt and have stable household incomes, perhaps the recovery is underway.  But if they are not sure how stable their employment is and they’re still digging-out from the recessionary storm, it’s plausible that they would think the recession continues.

In my opinion—as I’ve said before—your recession is over when your customers talk and act as if it is over. 

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.