for this blog installment, i've asked for some help from a dear friend, client and outstanding business woman, Judy Carlough of Winning At Business.
Judy is a well-known motivational speaker and educator in the area of sales, marketing and small business success. she has made nothing less than legendary strides in the areas of sports broadcasting for women, and is the author of the workbook "Building the Champion Mindset", a guide to increasing productivity and success in sales and small business.
today, she speaks to us all about what we can do as small business owners to counter the current economy and move our companies forward despite the economic challenges we face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Right now, with so many businesses struggling to stay above water, marketing and advertising budgets have been cut back or cut out.
It’s the bunker mindset: go where it’s safe, hunker down and ride out the storm.
Problem is, you can’t make progress when you’re sitting still. The danger is that your smarter competitors are out there in the storm, fighting to make progress. Even though their progress may be small and comes at a price, they’re moving ahead. Ahead of you.
What are they doing? Maybe just some inexpensive online campaigns, emailing customers, buying prospect email lists. Telling potential customers what’s RIGHT about buying now. Giving special offers or payment terms. Telling success stories. Using their website and a e-mail marketing tool that’s easy and very inexpensive. Do it yourself or hire a pro like MaryAnn Pfeiffer at 108 degrees, llc.
Radio is also a very inexpensive way to motivate targeted audiences. Besides a schedule of 60- or 30-second commercials (which can be produced at little or no cost), you can get a live event at your store, be part of a contest, do sampling or coupons via the station’s website (and you can track responsiveness), or build sophisticated interactive programs with texting and web traffic builders.
Public Relations is another low cost option. Don’t be a do-it-yourselfer with PR; hire a pro. You can partner with an established firm or just go to Craig’s List and see what you stir up. I’ve found superb talent at bargain prices on Craig’s List. Keep a high profile. Top of mind awareness is essential in tough times. And with everyone else in the bunker, you can get center stage all to yourself.
To get out of the bunker mindset, try thinking like a champion athlete: they can’t win games sitting on the bench. They play the game in snow and freezing rain, when the sideline heaters aren’t working, when they can’t throw the long ball and can only grind it out one yard at a time. Slowly, they put themselves in position to score. And they keep doing it again and again, building up points.
And what’s happening to the guy in bunker who thinks he’s safe? He’s losing ground. Not because of the “bad economy” but because he’s not even on the playing field. And when this economic storm passes (and it will), you bunker guys may not be able to catch up. Your competition will be way ahead. Your former clients will now be THEIR clients.
So get out of the bunker and do some marketing, advertising and PR. Get back in the game.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
where did they all go?
in the current economic climate, i have a lot of clients asking me where all their customers have gone. it's a good question.
i have a better one.
where did all of your profit go?
for a lot of small business owners, the customers are still there. they always have been, and they aren't really going anywhere. but what has changed are our profit margins. this is what is causing the difference in success of many business types, and one of the main reasons a lot of us are feeling the crunch of the economic crisis.
as i look at my clients' and my own past economic year, i see two main thrusts that are causing our pain and loss of profit. late payments and higher costs.
late payments, while they seem easy to fix, are a bit part of the problem. they result from the banking crisis and banks being less willing to extend the lines of credit so many of us need to order inventory, deal with emergencies and pay our bills on time. this causes a domino effect from business to business resulting in some business owners being more than 30 or 60 days out on bills. for those on the receiving end, this can be disastrous.
higher costs are also a result of the banking crisis but also come from increases in oil and gas prices. shipping costs, food prices and other general rises in operational costs have been quite dramatic over the last year. even if you still have the same customer base and pricing that you had a year ago, odds are you aren't seeing the profit you once did.
so how do we solve this?
well, there is no one, simple solution.... and if there is i will leave it to the economists to instruct us on. my expertise is in marketing and the small business, so here's what i can offer:
- be consciously aware of your costs: know what inventory, shipping, staffing and other costs to run your business are. be smart but frugal. don't cut off your nose to spite your face (in other words, don't stop doing anything that costs money just to save it, especially marketing), but be aware and try to think about where your business can and should afford to put spending.
- be responsible about spending: don't spend what you don't have or can't secure a line of credit to afford. in the long run, this will hurt your business more than it will help it.
- don't neglect your bills: if you can't pay up, tell your suppliers. we're all in this crunch together and more than likely they will understand. they will certainly be more understanding if you communicate directly to them about it.
- keep marketing, responsibly: you need a constant influx of customers to ensure that your bottom line doesn't drop further. this means you MUST continue to market your business in the most successful manners you can. look at your history and use strategies that have performed well in the past. in addition, set aside test budgets to try new ideas responsibly, so that you can tap into new markets and generate new leads.
the companies that weather this economic storm and come out well will be the ones that continue to aggressively pursue business opportunities through strategically sound marketing initiatives. they are the ones that don't give up.
be one of those.
i have a better one.
where did all of your profit go?
for a lot of small business owners, the customers are still there. they always have been, and they aren't really going anywhere. but what has changed are our profit margins. this is what is causing the difference in success of many business types, and one of the main reasons a lot of us are feeling the crunch of the economic crisis.
as i look at my clients' and my own past economic year, i see two main thrusts that are causing our pain and loss of profit. late payments and higher costs.
late payments, while they seem easy to fix, are a bit part of the problem. they result from the banking crisis and banks being less willing to extend the lines of credit so many of us need to order inventory, deal with emergencies and pay our bills on time. this causes a domino effect from business to business resulting in some business owners being more than 30 or 60 days out on bills. for those on the receiving end, this can be disastrous.
higher costs are also a result of the banking crisis but also come from increases in oil and gas prices. shipping costs, food prices and other general rises in operational costs have been quite dramatic over the last year. even if you still have the same customer base and pricing that you had a year ago, odds are you aren't seeing the profit you once did.
so how do we solve this?
well, there is no one, simple solution.... and if there is i will leave it to the economists to instruct us on. my expertise is in marketing and the small business, so here's what i can offer:
- be consciously aware of your costs: know what inventory, shipping, staffing and other costs to run your business are. be smart but frugal. don't cut off your nose to spite your face (in other words, don't stop doing anything that costs money just to save it, especially marketing), but be aware and try to think about where your business can and should afford to put spending.
- be responsible about spending: don't spend what you don't have or can't secure a line of credit to afford. in the long run, this will hurt your business more than it will help it.
- don't neglect your bills: if you can't pay up, tell your suppliers. we're all in this crunch together and more than likely they will understand. they will certainly be more understanding if you communicate directly to them about it.
- keep marketing, responsibly: you need a constant influx of customers to ensure that your bottom line doesn't drop further. this means you MUST continue to market your business in the most successful manners you can. look at your history and use strategies that have performed well in the past. in addition, set aside test budgets to try new ideas responsibly, so that you can tap into new markets and generate new leads.
the companies that weather this economic storm and come out well will be the ones that continue to aggressively pursue business opportunities through strategically sound marketing initiatives. they are the ones that don't give up.
be one of those.
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