Let’s face it, business is not booming these days. We all have to think a little more creatively, reach out more frequently than we might have and continue to persevere when the chips look down.
At most of the audiences I address these days, I’m often asked, “What is the one thing you would do to grow your business – assuming you could only pick one sales or marketing practice.” My response always is, “if only it were that easy.”
Unfortunately, there is no one magic bullet in terms of how to succeed in business. Instead, it is a matter of employing many sales and marketing tactics in a visible, consistent and repetitious way that attracts more business to your business. This is especially true when times are tough.
Here are nine strategies that will help you survive and thrive in a down economy.
1. Identify your ideal target market. Who specifically, do you want to have as a client? Not everyone will be a perfect match and if the world is viewed as your oyster, you may never be able to afford to reach the universe, as opposed to a specific niche group.
2. Attend and get involved at the events and meetings that your prospects and clients attend.
3. Establish yourself as an expert and valued resource at these meetings by speaking at them and writing for their trade publications.
4. Promote your expertise via publicity by getting published.
5. Leverage past and current successes by re-printing articles written by you or about you, distributing announcements.
6. Cultivate a great database of prospects, vendors, past customers, media contacts, etc. Remember, you are only as good as your list.
7. Create an impressive web presence. It’s the minimum required to have a local, national or global presence.
8. Distinguish yourself from the competition. Extend exceptional customer service, celebrate unusual holidays and events, under promise and over deliver and communicate with your target market on a consistent basis. Don’t forget to know the competition and be able to articulate how you are different. Thank everyone who refers business to you and never forget to thank your clients. I continue to be amazed at the good will generated by a thoughtful, kind gesture.
9. Commit to a plan. Make a date with yourself every October to revisit the marketing and sales items you implemented in the past that were successful and plot those activities on a calendar for the upcoming year. Work backwards to determine what small steps need to be taken on a regular basis to be sure your marketing plan gets done.
Marketing, as I say quite often, is simply put as having VCR – visibility, consistency and repetition in the marketplace. In order to have name recognition among your target market – you need to be visible in a consistent way and repeat that message over time. Because we all learn in different ways, employing a media mix is an ideal way to grow your business.
9 Business Development Strategies To Grow Your Business In A Challenging Economy - To learn more about this author, visit Nancy Michaels's Website.
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Nancy Michaels
(Visit Nancy's Website)
Is the author of five books on marketing
for small businesses, including Perfecting
Your Pitch, (Career Press 2005) Off The
Wall Marketing Ideas, (Adams Media 2000),
How To Be A Big Fish In Any Pond, Media
Madness, and A to Z to Visibility
Served as Small Business Editor at US
News & World Report, and the Small
Business Marketing Expert for Entrepreneur
Magazine. She is a regular contributor to
Franchise Update and has been featured in
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Business (FSB), Success Magazine, The New
York Post, Franchising Magazine, among
numerous other publications
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Lauer (currently co-host of the Today
show)
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company, Impression Impact, which she
launched in 1990 and Founder of the Grow
Your Business Network
In the spring of 2005, Nancy became very
ill and underwent a liver transplant due
to liver failure. She is the grateful
recipient of a donor liver. Find out how
you can become a donor at www.organdonor
.gov.
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