A recent national survey from ThomasNet shows that businesses are very optimistic about their growth and their ability to survive through the recession in spite of all the challenges they face in the current tough environment when customers’ are increasingly reducing their spending.

The survey polled 800 executives, managers and engineers from small, midsize and large companies. 79% of the respondents said that they believe the US economy will improve by the second quarter of 2010 or sooner with 35% expecting their business to grow by the year end.

Apart from the general view of the economy on the whole businesses showed huge optimism about their own activity. Instead of just waiting for the environment to improve they prefer to resort to ingenuity and decisive action to direct their own rebounds. 61% of these said they do not expect stimulus packages will do any good for their business. Their vision can be expressed through the utterance of one respondent who said: “This is not our recession. We refuse to participate.” 

The participants in the poll are taking different actions to direct their destinies. 70% of them practice new sales tactics, specifically: looking for business in new industries such as medical or aerospace, exploring new sales channels like distributors, and increasing their online marketing. These businesses are determined not just to survive but to succeed with 38% of them developing new and innovative products. 

The survey respondents shared some of the lessons they have learned which form the foundation for their new strategies:

“You can’t be diversified enough in a down market.” 
“Always energize around sales, innovation, marketing and cost control measures.” 
“Stay customer-focused. Be flexible to meet customer expectations. Be proactive in responding to customers and/or anticipating customer needs.” 
“The Internet is one of the best business tools available, period.” 
“Innovation must never end.”