A Business Model Stimulus
Most companies, naturally, are choosing to tighten their belts in this recessionary economy.
In this week’s New Yorker, James Surowiecki makes a compelling case for ramping up spending in a downturn. He cites Kellogg’s success launching and marketing Rice Krispies during the Great Depression.
I don’t know of many companies doubling down on consumer marketing right now, but I know plenty of companies looking to understand how the federal stimulus plan might be relevant to their business.
Since becoming law in February, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) has dominated my conversations with my clients. Everyone from cement producers to plastic laminate manufacturers to defense contractors ask me how they can obtain stimulus funding. The answer, more often than not, is to go green.
The stimulus legislation is packed with incentives, not just for renewable energy and smart grid technology, but weatherization, energy efficiency, and transportation.
That’s causing corporate planners to alter their thinking about the sustainability of their products and services, to reappraise their markets, and to adjust their thinking – so they can get access to this money available right now.
Some liken the stimulus to a wave that washes through the economy just once. I see the effort more like a river (especially when you consider the President’s 2010 budget and the prospect of a second stimulus) steadily shaping the contours of the economy, helping turn America’s business landscape in a more sustainable direction.
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