Eleven ideas to celebrate the depression

Recently I read a statement delivered by the esteemed NY Times Economics Columnist, Paul Krugman to the ANA.

"History tells us that we should not count on any kind of recovery anytime soon," he said. "The economy is depressed because people don't want to spend."

It was reported as a pronouncement of ongoing doom and caution.

What if we keep it real and accept that people are just behaving the way they need to in order to look after themselves and their families. This is our customers adjusting as needed to live well in the future. Surely this is a good thing?

So, to celebrate our customers newly focusing on that which is important to them and responding in new and creative ways to the challenge, here are 11 ideas to help customers celebrate the depression:

1. Send your customers a surprise bonus - just because. An extra something, a discount, $10 off their bill, some ideas on how they can use your service more efficiently.
2. Use your power to help your customer. If you have large purchasing power, special relationships with suppliers or unique access to places and objects - how can you leverage this for your customers benefit?
3. Do less. Charge less. Ask your customers what they can do without to pay less.
4. Support customers' re-focused lives - what about supporting local volunteering organisations, holding a street-long open dinner party or supporting walking to school?
5. Facilitate re-training and re-employment activities - start / wrap in a re-training program at your business that supports people that may have had forcible employment changes. Help them help each other.
6. Promote the great new more financially conscious lifestyle people are living, publicly. I saw a great campaign with luscious luxe green styling with the message "saving is the new spending". How can you make your customers feel proud of their new conscious choices?
7. Spend less as an organisation. Tell people people about it and the fact that this means that you did not need to put up your charges to them.
8. Spark a 'tight-ass tuesday' dinner party idea for customers. Share recipes, images, theme ideas and social linkages to help them do it.
9. Sponsor a council to create local free events for your area.
10. Utilise your space. Is your foyer, meeting rooms or carpark unused at times - how could you share this with customers to help them achieve their goals more cost effectively?
11. Support people to get and stay engaged in their community, irrespective of their work status. A great example of this is the Innocent big knit.

All of these celebrate the reality of people being more conscious and financially responsible whilst supporting your goal of increasing awareness and loyalty.

I don't know about you...but I'm feeling ready to get out and celebrate right about now :)

You? How are you helping customers celebrate the depression. Or do you think this is unreasonably fluffy for cash-constrained marketing budgets to contemplate?

Image Credit: Life Magazine (via http://www.chrisperruna.com/category/misc/)