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I agree that focus is incredibly important during tough times like a recession. I am finding this to be true during a business launch as well. The more focused you are, the better chance you have to be something special and unique to a few customers instead of trying to be everything "vanilla" to a whole bunch of customers! Really, as a small business, this should be your strategy all the time.
btw - we hear the same reports about nationwide doom and yet the economy is Dallas-Fort Worth is really strong. Areas of problem I'm sure, but good overall.
Get narrow, add value and have fun because people like spending money with people who are having fun.
I have written an article about this about two weeks ago. I hope you don't mind if I share it with your readers.
http://marketingloop.com/small-business-marketi...
My addition to your list would be: Narrow your marketing goals - evaluate your current marketing goals and re-focus to create distinct and measurable goals to map to the overall company mission.
While outside resources may change, your mission and goals should remain steadfast.
The biggest problem for small busnesses is that they may talk themselves into the state of recession, even if the recession doesn't happen. My stance is to keep positive and energetic in your marketing. If you are evangelistic about your product and give it the effort to promote yourself, then some of that enthusiasm will rub off.
keep sending out the duct tape. Great post
cheers
Rob Wendes
Nicecupoftea ltd
Lancashire
UK
I often suggest for retail businesses that they start by putting out a signup form at their checkout that says “join our preferred customer mailing list” and have a line for their name and email address. It’s amazing how fast you can build a list of interested customers (whom you can engage to bring back to your business) if you simply just ask them for their permission to stay in touch.
However, i have to step in the proverbial pile and disagree on some levels. Once In a recession, you should do everything you can to nurture and streamline your efforts. But heading into one, thats the time to pick up momentum so that you can coast to the top of what could be a very long up-hill struggle.
Not diversifying, especially for small businesses with few customers can be deadly, simply beause you don't know that the few customers you have will be doing the right things and surviving.
If your stremlined and tightened target group is the one hit the hardest or just first in a recession. Or too many of your customers fall by the wayside by chance alone. You will find yourself stuck with a narrow field of diminishing possibilities.
The only real way to recession proof your business is to make sure that your customers are numerous and strong enough to get you through it.
Since when did all our eggs belong in too few baskets?
Also, if a recession is the signal for anyone to start listening to the customers. They are probably too late in any case.
We're about to focus our rifle on some select big clients, and sharpen our message. Thanks.
One theme I've been discussing with my marketing team is how to do more with less. In times like this, we're taking a cold, hard look at all of our lead generation activities and figuring out which we can forgo in favor of more efficient methods.
One of the intiatives we're looking at is better lead nurturing of our existing prospect database. We're designing campaigns for those who have already responded to us, but haven't yet purchased. So far, we've "woken up" about 20% of our database of leads who went cold on us over the past 24 months. And our cost per new opportunity was miniscule compared to new lead generation activities.
The other thing we've been focusing on is lead management using lead scoring. (I've blogged about this a few times this year). Lead scoring helps us figure out who is most ready to engage with us, and who is not yet ready to buy. With longer buying cycles in a tight economy, knowing who to engage with is pretty important.
My heart was gladdened by John's last comment about the tough economy weeding out knockoff competitors. If there's a silver lining to a challenging environment, it's the knowledge that those who survive will ultimately thrive when the tide turns.