Turning Relationships Into Profits
There is one thing every business must do if they are to survive a slow economy: “Get Creative.”
Even as the economy begins to show signs of recovery, local and cable news television stations repeatedly shower us with terms like, recession and economic slowdown. We immediately associate those words with declining tax revenues, higher unemployment, spending cutbacks, and foreclosures.
It is less likely that you will associate a recession with terms such as innovation, quality, connection, and focus, but if you are operating a business, that is exactly the mindset you need to have if you expect to control the economic impact on your bottom line.
So what can you do to alter your mindset and change the direction of your business?
Spend More Time on Your Marketing Strategies – Communicate to a target group. Get to know them better. What are their fears, problems and concerns? They are doing business with someone and you cannot shrink back if you want that someone to be you. Customize your marketing strategy to each target group. If you do not have an existing online marketing strategy in place, this is the perfect opportunity to pursue Internet marketing and attract the attention of those using the Internet. Begin by interacting with customers through blogs where they can exchange ideas and share product feedback.
Improve Relationships With Your Existing Customers – Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are free and effective tools you can use to share updates about your business. Get your customers’ permission to collect their email address and use periodic email campaigns to keep customers engaged and promote pricing specials. Social media is where people gather and share information and it has become a great resource for free word of mouth advertising.
Stand Out From Your Competition – This is a great time to assess what gives you a competitive advantage and decide how you want to communicate that to your customers. Customers and future customers expect more if they are going to part with their hard earned money. They expect big savings, which can also equate to more value. While your competitors are shrinking their marketing budgets, use this time to maintain or increase your marketing dollars to promote pricing specials and other valuable incentives.
Provide Excellent Customer Service – Customers are aware of the economic challenges, but longer wait times and sloppy maintenance could cause even your most loyal customers to shop around. Maintaining a quality customer experience is more crucial now than ever before.
Establish an Online Presence – The buying process typically begins online even if you do not provide an online shopping cart. Customers research products, services and who they may potentially do business with. It is very easy to create a website with no programming or web development experience. It is not difficult to find free or low cost easy to use web editors and web hosting services.
Most importantly, do not participate in the economic slowdown mentality. If you want to sustain and grow your business, be innovative, connect your target market to specific products and services that will benefit them, and focus on building relationships.
