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Inspiration

In a business slump, take action

s an ISO owner, merchant level salesperson Another area ripe for modification is your product and
or other professional in the multifaceted pay- service offerings and pricing strategy. When prices are too
ments and fintech sphere, one of the scariest low, you may miss out on potential revenue, but if prices
A things that can happen is a sudden, dramatic are too high, customers may be deterred by the high price
drop in residuals. Whether it's due to unexpected expens- tag. You might find you are stuck with outmoded offerings
es, a loss of clients, an economic downturn or a pandemic, and pricing that aren't as appealing as they used to be. It's
a sudden slump in revenue can be overwhelming. But a matter of balance. Research what's working best in the
when this occurs, quick, decisive action can get your busi- market and see what you can upgrade without increasing
ness back on track. costs.

Evaluate and analyze Diversify and plan
First, it's important to evaluate the cause of the sudden Remember that mastering and serving a particular vertical
income drop. You may have a hunch about the reason has advantages, but businesses that rely on a single product
that turns out to be correct, but don't implement remedial or service are highly vulnerable to market fluctuations,
steps until you've put assumptions aside and examined changes in consumer preferences and changes in
the situation and identified the cause or causes. These can technology. Diversifying your offerings typically creates
be external, like an overall economic downturn, or they new revenue streams. You can also expand your customer
could be internal, for example, health or relationships base through targeted marketing campaigns that involve
issues affecting in-house performance. a combination of social media, email marketing and
advertising in key industry publications.
With the cause clearly in mind you can analyze your
financial statements, budget, cost of capital, cash flow, Even with remedial measures in place, you may need a
and other financial data to identify areas that need temporary loan or a line of credit to cover expenses for a
improvement. This isn't just about knowing your sales time. You might already partner with one of our industry's
revenue and profits; it is more about knowing where your alternative funding providers. If not, you know where to
money comes from, where it goes and how to manage it find them.
efficiently.
And once things are stable, come up with a new plan for
Cut expenses and revise pricing long-term sustainability and financial stability. This will,

With this information in hand, you can cut unnecessary of course, need to change from time to time, but it will
expenses such as services you're paying for but no longer allow you to have a clear vision of your future and the
use. You could also examine your utility usage to see steps you need to take to achieve your goals.
if you can reduce consumption or find less expensive
options. You also might be able to negotiate with suppliers
and partners to see if you can get better deals without
compromising the quality of your product offerings.

Kate Gillespie, President and CEO
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