Navigating the Economic Downturn

With the U.S. economy officially moving into a recession, Mark Zweig, president and CEO of the market consulting firm, ZweigWhite, based in Natick, Mass., offers a short list of suggestions to help A/E firms successfully paddle through the current economic downturn.

By Staff November 26, 2001

With the U.S. economy officially moving into a recession, Mark Zweig, president and CEO of the market consulting firm, ZweigWhite, based in Natick, Mass., offers a short list of suggestions to help A/E firms successfully paddle through the current economic downturn:

Strengthen the firm’s financial reporting and forecasting resources to be able to provide the most up-to-date information possible.

Re-analyze market sectors. Zweig confers with the general consensus in the industry that hotel and office construction will be down, but public sector work and aviation should remain solid markets.

Re-evaluate current staffing levels. It may be necessary to let high-level people go, in addition to drafters and administrative staff.

Cut benefits. Although the trend had been to provide more generous compensation packages, now the first priority of A/E firms is to protect its profits.

Re-evaluate marketing strategies, looking carefully at e-marketing which is a quickly emerging trend.

For more information, log on to the ZweigWhite web site at www.zweigwhite.com .