9 business survival tips for getting through the recession

Businesses were not short of advice - good, bad and downright daft - for getting through the recession. This piece in the Telegraph had some pretty sensible suggestions for what entrepreneurs and managers needed to do…

The Telegraph reported some market research from O2 who quizzed businesses that had survived the previous recession. According to the research, the nine things a business needed to focus on were:

1) Get the basics right (proper business planning + accurate financial reporting)
2) Cut costs
3) Careful cash flow management
4) Spend on marketing
5) Determination
6) Hold onto existing customers
7) Diversify your product and customer base
8) Deliver excellent customer service
9) Credit check customers

I can’t argue with any of the items on the list - all make sense. However, I think I would add the following:

10) Simplify business processes - outsource non-essential functions and reduce product or process complexity
11) Invest in training - particularly in key revenue-generating skills (e.g. telephone selling)
12) Innovate - improve existing products sold to existing markets

Are there other suggestions that students would include - what and why?