It's at these times when strong brand and company identity are crucial - at two levels. First the retailer needs to get the consumer through the door and second they need to convince them to buy a decent volume of margin-delivering goods!

Food retailers of course are the leaders in implementing appropriate strategies. Their high profile brands, reinforced by big-budget advertising campaigns and a growing ‘hypermarket' presence, ensure that pretty much everyone knows them well. Then, lots of well considered product positioning puts the high-margin nice-to-have products near those essentials. It's no coincidence that the most expensive clothing softeners or bath salts aren't too far away from the toilet paper!

More directly of course, we in the nursery trade feel the impact of this strategy. It's unlikley that many consumers set out to an Asda or a Tesco with the specific intention of buying toddler clothes, but astonishing numbers throw them in the trolley as an ‘also buy' to the baked beans.

What are the lessons in the nursery trade?

It sometimes feels painful to admit, but you can't neglect marketing, design and branding when times are difficult. Indeed that's just the time when you need to be particularly creative - to attract the when you need to be particularly creative - to attract the customer through the door and persuade them to buy.  Many organisations in the nursery sector cut back on their design and marketing spend as soon as sales dip and yet it's a strategy that sits on a par with down-sizing the sales team when sales are low. A better approach first would be to help the sales team sell more effectively. Those bold enough to see that it's about market share seize the opportunity that difficult times present.

Our market has one thing in common with marriage service providers and, even with funeral directors. Quite simply, people are always having babies and the market never goes away. So the challenge is to make sure that customers spend their money with you and that your market share goes up while your competitors dwindle. It's is possible to thrive in a down market if you have what the customer needs.

So here are three tips for retailers for tougher economic times, which will help make your business the one that comes out the other end nearer the top of the market:

• Continue to spend money on branding and advertising
• Never stop revisiting your brand identity
• Make sure you ‘stock' the recession-proof goods alongside your high-margin ranges.

If you are going to continue spending how and where? 

You need to position your brand within the market place and determine what you want your ‘promise' to be, communicate it, create an expectation in peoples mind and then deliver that promise. Whether you are a large manufacturer or a high street store, creating and looking after your brand is more important than ever in this difficult market. It can be the difference between making that sale or not. If there is no obvious difference between your products to that of another nursery company and your prices are similar then customers will instantly go for the stronger brand... wouldn't you? Isn't that like the difference of an own brand mp3 player sat on the shelf next to iPod?

Sometimes it's important to go back to basics and remind yourself about the essentials of your own brand. The best brands do what they say they're going to do, and they do it consistently day in and day out, no matter what the circumstances. Coke doesn't have one case of coke that's so-so, another that's great, and yet another that's a bit flat. A Coke is a Coke is a Coke. It doesn't matter whether you get one at Blackpool Tower or the Eiffel Tower.

I can hear some of you already screaming at me - ‘Hey I'm the corner shop retailer selling the big nursery brands not the manufacturer myself!' But the same principles apply - how are you going to communicate a clear consistent message in all that you do to make sure the customer remains loyal? A shop can be a brand as much as a product can. Look at Mamas and Papas.

And if you are building a brand from scratch, or refreshing a current one, look for outside help. Even if your organisation has some internal creative skills it can often help to seek the views of a creative outfit that's ‘been there before' and can ask you some dumb questions. This might include things like ‘ do you have a mission statement and if not should you?' (the answer's is generally yes since the absence of one is often an indication of a lack of purpose underlying a clear direction and a supporting plan).

I've hinted at some of the similarities of our business domain to other markets but there are some differences too. From DesignCat experience there are few markets more sensitive to ‘this season's colour' or to appropriate logos. So if you are designing products you need to think very carefully about these issues and if you are a retailer laying out displays or putting together incentive schemes or special offers or new brochures... it's another area where an experienced external eye can help.

Are you selling to your best customer?

Finally don't forget that, in common with all markets, the easiest customer to sell to is the existing customer. If they've already bought and been satisfied with a £1 rattle then that very attractive expensive pushchair is much more likely to look tempting!

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