When you listen to the news like I do, what has become a 24 hour a day constant feed from radio, TV, internet blogs and news channels, etc., you can get the distinct impression that now is at best a precarious time for the world of American business. We still don't know where this economy is going, up or down, there are still doomsday predictions of a second housing bubble, a recurring economic crash, taxes going up, tax breaks being repealed, government health care and all of the entanglements that go along with it, and it would be easy as a business owner to get VERY nervous about future prospects of growth or even survival.
I don't have a crystal ball, and I'm not going to say today to have no fear at all, in fact a healthy degree of caution is a good thing. What I will say is, don't let fear rule you and make all of your business decisions FOR you. It's time to make SMART decisions and to inspire your employees and co-workers to greater heights and more encouraged outlooks.
When we started Xapsis Integrated Marketing we knew that we wanted to specifically work with the small to midsized business owner because we genuinely feel that they are the backbone of the country. The economic recovery that will eventually come is going to develop from exactly that segment, I really and truly believe that. It's going to come from true business leaders that inspire through adversity, take risks and don't let fear back them into a corner. It's going to come from gutsy entreprenuers, and business owners that simply refuse to give up because they believe in their people, their products and their own intentions to create something worthwhile. C'mon now, deep down inside you know that what you do, or the product you make, is the greatest in a field of many competitors, right? If you didn't believe that, then why do it at all?
Many times it has been said that in a down economy the first instinct for business owners is to pull back marketing, which they have a tendency to see as an expendable drain, but that that is exactly the opposite of what they should actually do. In a down economy it's time to turn up the heat on their marketing efforts and really pound their message home to solidfy that the company is not going to disappear and so that when things pick up they are the ones left standing when many have taken their marketing ball and gone home, so to speak. The great news for you brave SMB leaders out there is that it doesn't take a fortune, whether in an up or down economy, to keep pounding your branded message home in this day and age. There are MANY cost effective campaigns and strategies that you can use to keep moving forward, keep growing no matter what is happening in the marketplace locally and nationally, and keep from having to lay off staff, lower prices or close up shops.
Here are just a handful of COST EFFECTIVE (Key Words) suggestions, VERY briefly, and please feel free to contact Xapsis for more ideas for your company specifically and to flesh these ideas out a whole lot more specifically for your company:
- Leverage Radio - Typically you get a lot more bang for your buck on radio than you do on TV, and radio is a TREMENDOUS driver of traffic to websites, which is where most people go before engaging a company for goods or services.
- Web Presence - If this is where most people are going then you better make sure that you website is ready to receive them and sell your products and services! It needs to be SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly, user friendly, relationship building and sales engaging.
- Dimensional Mailings - These can be HIGHLY creative and TIGHTLY focused pilot campaigns that target specific small numbers of "wish list" clients that create a high close rate and really effect bottom lines.
- Social Media Campaigns - If you are not leveraging social media, what is stopping you? Develop a strategy and start making contact and developing relationships with your prospective clients WHERE THEY ARE AT! Social Media networks are the new marketplace where hundreds of thousands of people meet everyday, why not have them talk about you and your company?
- PURL Campaigns - Personalized URL campaigns are a great way to make a splash that large companies use to great effect and their is no reason why you can't use them as well! People are attracted to messages they feel are directed more personally at them and their needs/goals, make that work for you by showing them why you are the best fit and give them a nice incentive to try you out!
- Street Marketing - This is true guerilla marketing that is imagination, out of the box, creative thinking at its best! Coming up with something that is low cost and memorable that can be executed by your own employees in many cases, or with a little sweat equity and a small investment is fun, and exciting and can create more buzz than you could possibly imagine! Xapsis is getting ready to launch one of these very soon for ourselves and the initial tests are very positive, we would love to talk to you about this idea even further for your company.
From where you are to where you want to be,
Doug
