When the Market is Soft, Buy a Mattress

The business climate has experienced more conditional changes within the past few years than most people can remember. An uncertain economy, rising unemployment, a weak housing market and many other factors have contributed to these conditions. Although these remain tough times, it isn't a time to fold the tent and hide under the bed. Instead, why not buy a new mattress?

Select Comfort, a maker of air-supported specialty mattresses, wasn't immune to what most businesses faced during the last few years. Being tied to the performance of the housing market didn't help them. But, they understood the situation to be an opportunity. In a proactive mode, they made sweeping changes throughout their organization which included cost-cutting and store reductions. They also focused on MARKETING!

They understood that fine-tuning their business was a must. And, this meant stepping up marketing efforts to build awareness for their Sleep Number brand while investing in digital media to encourage consumer feedback and interaction.

As a result, profits are up 114% over the year's previous quarter and sales have increased nearly 25%. This is encouraging considering that only three years before, sales had slid by 24%.

Select Comfort is a classic example of why companies should invest in marketing and sales during a soft market. If those areas are cut, then nothing short of a miracle is going to improve revenue opportunities.

Be consistent in your marketing activities. Stay in front of your market. Communicate with your customers. Give them good information that can make a difference for their businesses. Don't let a soft market keep you from getting a good night's sleep!