A United Message: Arizona is Open for Business
Gov. Jan Brewer’s proclamation — “Arizona is open for business” — should be a rallying point for Arizona businesses.
“Government can’t create jobs … only the free market can,” said Brewer as she laid out an agenda packed with economic development specifics in her State of the State Luncheon/Address Jan. 12 at the Tucson Convention Center. Overarching comments on state budget and a looming $5 billion deficit dominated the first half of her speech, but during the second half she spoke passionately of shoring up the economy through private sector involvement.
Brewer cited several economic accomplishments or “strategic wins.” On the top of her list: Suntech Power, China’s largest solar panel manufacturer, which plans to begin production of its first American plant near Phoenix in the third quarter and it plans to eventually employ 200.
Recalibrate Your Competition – Now
Do you know who your competitors are? Would your customers provide a similar response if asked the same question about you? Have the fluctuations in the economic climate changed the competitive situation for your company?
Theodore Levitt’s landmark article “Marketing Myopia,” first published in 1960 in the Harvard Business Review, implores us to think of our competitive set in terms of the need we are filling or the problem we are solving for our customers, as opposed to an orientation towards the products and services we are offering. One of Levitt’s examples — rail companies that incorrectly considered themselves as being in the railroad industry rather than in the transportation industry— demonstrates the shortsightedness that made railroads ill-equipped to handle challenges from the airline and automotive sectors.
It is an ideal time to start asking questions to ensure that your company doesn’t succumb to a similar fate. Consumer decision-making seems to be shifting from wants and toward needs.
Hunkering Down in Tough Times is Not the Answer
I received some disturbing news last month about Arizona’s economy during the University of Arizona’s Eller College Economic Outlook luncheon.
I learned that Arizona is ranked 50th for job growth and the state’s unemployment rate is expected to rise to more than 10 percent in the first quarter of 2010. I also learned that Arizona is bankrupt with no good plan to balance the state’s budget in the next few years. Unfortunately, Arizona’s legislators have been unable to compromise on important budget decisions, primarily because of extreme political differences.
After the luncheon, I spoke to several clients and business owners about the bad news and asked them if the state’s economic and political woes would alter their business plan for 2010.