Three-quarters of the way through, and it’s safe to say that 2009 has been a tough year for everyone.
Gloomy naysayers are already looking ahead and predicting an even worse 2010.
But I’m going to stick my neck on the line and disagree.
You see, despite all the cutbacks, currency issues and talk of recession, many companies haven’t just weathered the storm, they’ve come out the other side stronger than ever.
They’ve stared the recession in the face, stripped costs out of their business and managed to hit their revenue targets.
So what about next year?
Well I reckon that all this streamlining has taken cost-savings as far as they can go.
If companies want to achieve growth next year, (and let’s face it, whose shareholders don’t?) they’re going to have to drive revenue growth by creating sales growth.
That means marketing, advertising and events.
Those CFOs are going to have to start loosening the purse-strings again.
Remember that Kellogg’s emerged from the Great Depression as the market leader because they ramped up their marketing while everyone else cut back.
I predict good things for 2010.
Now, next week’s lottery numbers will be...