There is no question its tough out there. People are nervous, scared - some even in panic mode. They are looking to minimize spending, save money, and put off major expenditures - both on the personal and business side. Companies are slashing marketing budgets and charitable giving big time.
In such hard times, how do you keep your business going in a way that maintains or increases your sales but satisfies your customers’ needs to economize? There are several possible solutions - provide a comfort level to your customers that keeps them in the fold; lower your prices or provide customers with more value for present prices; expand your customer base; and increase and maximize your outreach/promotion dollars.
In this scary time, everyone needs to be reassured. If your customers are relying on your products or services, reassure them that you are still in business and will continue to meet their needs in a predictable, consistent way. Stay in contact. Communicate with your customers. Give them the positive news and be honest about the problem areas. People tend to be loyal if given half a chance. Complete information makes people less nervous.
Given your customers’ need to economize, review your pricing policies. Is there any room to lower your profit margin so that your customers can afford the products/services? If not, how can you add value so that they will recognize you as the preferred provider? The key is differentiating yourself from the competition with so much added value that the customer realizes they cannot afford to lose you as a supplier.
Expanding your customer base is a good strategy in good or bad times. This can be accomplished by looking at additional geographies as well as different types of customers. Be creative. Look at your products and services to determine how else they can be used, by what additional types of customers, and in what other areas. The Internet greatly enhances our ability to market in a wider geographic area - almost unlimited. If you are not already using the Internet as a sales tool - run, don’t walk, to the nearest web designer.
In tough times, the first thing business people often do is downsizing their marketing and philanthropic budgets. They look at this as a quick fix. In reality, they should do the opposite - expand their marketing and charitable giving. If people are being more cautious in their buying, you need to pound the message home even more. You need to get out to new markets. You need to find better messages, which will hit home with present and potential customers. Marketing takes many forms - print advertising, live media, direct mail, e-mail, one-to-one meetings, group networking, etc. Determine what works best for your target market and how you can maximize your marketing dollars.
Charitable giving is not just the right thing to do - particularly in this time when so many people are in need. It is also good for the bottom line. Using your philanthropic donations as a point of recognition for your company gets you noticed. Getting involved with charities gives you access to the charity’s board of directors, donors, service recipients and related entities as potential customers or customer sources.
The bottom line is that every business needs to make extra efforts at marketing and promoting their business in this economy. Such efforts start with providing the best product or service possible, maximizing customer satisfaction and continue with enhanced promotional efforts.
Roslyn D. Goldmacher is President/CEO of the Greater NY Development Co., a 30-year-old economic development organization providing low cost loans and free technical assistance to small businesses and not-for-profit entities. www.gnydc.org.
