This Recession Is No Time to Cut Back

Businesses fear reduced revenue during this recession, and it definitely has an impact on customers shopping habits. As money becomes tight, people automatically in a knee jerk reaction do things like, turn down the thermostat, drive less and walk more, and put off buying things unless absolutely needed.

If you are a small business owner, or thinking of starting one, some things which may seem intuitive are exactly the opposite to surviving tough times. One fatal mistake businesses make is to cut back on marketing and advertising in hopes of saving some money.

People continue buying things even in a recession. The products or services they choose are the ones which are kept in front of them, top-of-mind awareness.

How do you achieve top-of-mind awareness? The things being advertised. When people spend more selectively, you certainly would like your share of those dollars they do spend. With that goal in mind, you will need to make your advertising dollars work harder.

Effective email marketing is a great form of marketing because it is extremely affordable, even for a small business and should be part of any marketing a business does.

How to Leverage Your Advertising Dollars

1. Network. Build a strong team, preferably local people and other small businesses which helps keep the local economy much more stable and prosperous for everyone. Find skilled freelancers to do your design and marketing. Burdening yourself or your staff who probably aren't qualified is a sure path to wasted time and money. Don’t be cheap, spend the needed money.

2. Stay small, don't use an agency. Sure, glitzy, clever ads can win awards but won't bring in the needed business.

3. Who is your competition? Find what they are doing to bring in customers, then do the same thing, do it better, make it yours, don’t just photocopy their idea. On the other hand, if what you are doing right now works, keep doing it.

4. Stay at the top-of-mind. Publish a newsletter, maintain a website, send out direct mailers, have inserts for local newspapers, send out press releases, submit regular marketing articles to online article directories, offer something for free, blog, to name just a few things to do.

5. Don't waste time. Don’t sit around doing nothing, it only wastes time. Successful businesses are already taking these steps, and so should you.

6. Offer something for free. Marketing gifts, things you give away with your business name and contact information is always a win-win. Customers like it when you are giving away something useful and it also helps to spread your name around.

Stop wasting time and money on marketing strategies that are ineffectual. Let other businesses waste their time and money on weak marketing efforts which may just cause them to close their doors and put you ahead.

You don't want your business, which you have worked so hard to build, to fail just because of a weak economy. Make the right choices in your marketing efforts, and you will survive and thrive.

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