Tough Economic Times? Time to Get Creative

Building a business is challenging enough when the economy is strong. But in a recession, being proactive is even more important. Sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to turn around is not a strategy. This is when you need to get even more creative with your marketing.

Here are eight easy-to-implement tips designed to keep customers coming back:

1. Market consistently. If you want to maintain visibility and not be a “one shot wonder”, it’s important to keep your name out in the marketplace. Never give your customers a chance to forget about you.

2. Focus on your customers’ needs. Learn what they are by asking. Never assume.

3. Make customer care a priority. A positive customer experience may be the difference between keeping a customer or losing her to a competitor. Vow to make every customer experience a positive one.

4. Design your marketing material to be used in a variety of ways. A #10 envelope size card can be mailed along with an invoice, put in counter displays in neighborhood hotspots, distributed as leave-behinds when making sales calls, or passed out at networking events.

5. Keep your marketing message consistent. Don’t keep changing who you are. Not only does that muddy your brand, but it confuses your customers.

6. Find a WOW” about your business…. and use viral marketing to let everyone know about it. If you can’t find one, create on. It’s the reason customers talk about your store or your service. One-of-a-kind products. Custom designs. Styles that are always a few steps ahead of the current trends. Consistently outstanding customer service.

7. Read Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill. It’s a fabulous book that explains what triggers peoples’ “need that” button.

8. Don’t get discouraged. Our economy is cyclical. Business always comes back. And when it does, you want to be first on your customers’ “visit lists”.