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How to recession-proof your business with smart marketing

Written by: Peter Geisheker

Article Overview: Follow these powerful marketing tips to recession-proof your business.

How to recession-proof your business with smart marketing

It's no secret that today's economy is struggling. People are losing money, and businesses are scrambling to keep costs low and sales high, while the consumer is spending less than normal. Your business could possibly have taken a hit as well these days, and you are scaling back operations in order to keep afloat. When people ask you, “How's business?”, you may reply with the same grumble that everyone else has: “Well, you know the economy is down...”

Do you have to change your operations to adapt to recession? Absolutely. The problem is, many business owners are making huge mistakes when it comes to deciding on what to change. In fact, if you make the right changes, you can thrive in a floundering economy!

This is what you need to do: smart marketing. Why is it that, when business is down or suffering, marketing is one of the first things that business owners say they “can't afford”? How is scaling back marketing going to help turn things around? Here is just a partial list of some of the things good marketing can do for your company:

* create awareness of your product/service
* foster a sense of urgency and a need for your product/service in the consumers' minds
* establish the reputation of your business
* explain the benefits you offer that your competition does not
* explain how your business is different and better that your competition
* offer a strong money-back guarantee

Now, if done correctly, these things translate into sales. Without marketing, nobody knows about your product or service, and they don't know that they need it. So they won't be buying it. By not spending money on marketing, you lose more money than if you just do nothing. It's that simple.

Think of a product that nearly every person needs: gasoline. People have such a strong need for gas that the product markets itself, due to the reliance on automobiles. But throughout this economy's ups and downs, gasoline has gone well over $4.00 per gallon, and has also dropped under $2.00 per gallon. Despite the bad economy, and despite unpredictable prices, people are still buying gasoline – because they need it, regardless. That's the sense that you need to create in your product or service.

So now you say you can't afford to market that much, right? Well, as a business owner, you can come up with $1,000. Invest that $1,000 in a small marketing campaign that will speak directly to your target audience: some press releases, or maybe a well-written and targeted sales letter. Start small and work your way up if you have to. By nurturing a relationship with your market, you increase the visibility of your business, and you can then start turning those relationships into sales.

Some argue that people are spending less, but I would say that people are simply being more selective in what they buy. Money is still being spent; it's just not being thrown around much without thinking. It's your job as a business owner to convince the buyer to spend their valuable money on you and not on something else.

So, instead of cutting back on marketing, get smart about it. Don't sit around complaining. Give your business a fighting chance to succeed. Find a way to keep your market informed of your business and why they need you. Only then will you see your business thrive, and you can stop using the bad economy as an excuse.

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Article Tags: automobiles, business owners, consumers, despi, economy, gasoline, good marketing, recession, reliance, reputation, sense of urgency, smart marketing, spending money, ups, ups and downs



Related Forum Posts
Re: Article Marketing - No doubt, Article Marketing is a smart way to collect do follow, one way quality back links for your site. You can promote your business with article marketing easily. However recent updates in Google Algorithm has pushed article marketing a bit down still it's a good resource to promote your business online.
Easy job to market t-shirt - As long as you have stylish t-shirts with unique designs you won’t have to worry much about marketing them. Just give away few of them free to college going students tell them to talk to their friends and refer your shop and you should do well, but you have to be smart in picking the best guys, this is one way. Next what you can do is tie up with companies who look to order bulk t-shirts, also marketing companies seek for them. Look for all possible aspects to generate and grow your t-shirt business.
Re: Help for Inventors - Good point Michelle. If they are going to put a lot of money into a new invention, it would probably be smart for them to hire someone who really knows what their doing when it comes to marketing it.
Re: The Mobile Marketing - With the advent of smart phones and epads, every business man should be preparing to use mobile marketing. Mobile devices are more than laptops and pcs combine. Every Tom, Dick and their sister Harriet are having mobile devices. Not every one has laptop.
What do you suck at? - I say outsource everything that is outside your area of specialty. If you groom dogs and love it, then you're probably not good at finance, marketing, or IT. It costs you more in time and money to figure these things out than to give them to a professional. As a starting entrepreneur, it's hard to outsource everything. I still do my own accounting, and will until it's unmanageable and/or I can afford to outsource. I run a marketing firm, and I meet so many people who have done their own marketing (inefficiently) for years. There's a reason they come to me. They don't have the time to work on it, or it's not bringing in the sales they want it to. You may be smart, but you weren't designed to do everything.


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