EVEN without the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas telling us that inflation hit 11.4 percent last June (the highest in 14 years), we know that prices have gone up way beyond expectations. Just last year, in June, inflation was at 2.3 percent. We feel the pain, don’t we, every time we gas up, pay for groceries at the supermarket, or fork over money for FX fare.
Businesses have been feeling the pinch too, and my dad’s fave binalot outlet in Silang, Cavite is no exception. The chicken adobo binalot he buys regularly has shrunk in size. 
Other than shrinking portion sizes or adjusting prices, what can business people do in these tough times when business may be slower? Rather than wallow in self-pity, here are some things you can do:
1. Use the time to strategize. Juliet Z. Cruz, general manager of M-Vision Business Solutions, an advertising and PR company, shares: “Right now, we are undergoing strategic planning, reviewing internal and external factors to make ourselves more competitive in these hard times. We pause for a while or break to energize and regain positive energies.”
2. Work with other businesses by co-branding. M-Vision is a small company and Juliet says they always try to keep their expenses low. One way they do business is by “co-branding” with several partners. “In essence, we save in advertising and marketing cost and make our brand more visible in the market,” says Juliet.
3. Focus on giving quality service. Rosanne C. Araneta, administrator of CHILD Preschool, Inc., says they lowered their tuition fee by more than P10K a few years ago to remain competitive when at least three preschools sprang up in their vicinity. “Now my business partner, Tet, and I believe that it will all boil down to quality of service and the genuine care we have for the total development of our student population. Parents will get what they pay for,” says Rosanne.
CHILD Preschool has been around for 10 years and employs only teachers with a solid foundation in early childhood development. Rosanne is confident that parents will see and feel their genuine appreciation for children’s abilities and potentials and deep concern for their welfare, development and happiness.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Hi Mr Tan,
You are always welcome!
Thank you for your comments and we hope that we continue to help build our businesses and help our communities positively.
See you soon!
Always,
Juliet
July 30th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
YES, Juliet is absolutely right here.
We have recently used her service to promote Nasi Lemak, Authentic Singaporean Restaurant at 165 Tomas Morato cor A Roces, QC.
Through her service, we identified some of her clients we can network with and since then we have:
(A) been able to promote each others business by helping each other to distribute flyers and recommend customers.
(B) shared information data on suppliers to reduce cost of our ingredients, as some of us have identified better supplier chain.
(C) pooled together and identified some part of the customer profile which we did not know before, we can now cater with a wider range of products.
Thanks a million,
H K Tan
Culinary Consultant to Nasi Lemak
Authentic Singaporean Restaurant
165, Tomas Morato cor A Roces, QC
Tel: 376 6108
We are open from 11am - 10pm 7 days a week (except 1 November)
July 25th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Hi to all our readers and bloggers,
You may contact us to the following numbers:
M-Vision Business Solutions
Tel no: (632) 489-4035
TelFax: (632) 456-3332
Cel no: +632.922.242.0896
http://www.pinoyvision.blogspot.com
Email: inquiremvision at gmail dot com
Our website is under construction: http://www.pinoyvision.net
July 25th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Nice and timely article, especially in these trying times!
Can I get M-Vision’s contact numbers so I can ask in detail about the compnay’s trade secrets?
Jojo