Friday, December 12, 2008

Build Your Business in Any Economy

The economic pendulum swings: first one way, then the other. When it settles to an acceptable spot, everyone heaves a sigh of relief. What can you do to ride out these swings so that your business can operate successfully? Three simple steps are:

1) Target your consistent buyers.

Your business has clients who need what you offer - no matter what the economy is like. Target your marketing efforts to them specifically to increase buying frequency. Then target prospects who need what you offer.

2) Educate your prospects and clients.

All your marketing materials should educate your prospects and clients. Give them valuable information they can use, whether or not they can use your services. Who do you think they'll call when they are ready: the person they found in the yellow pages, or you - the person who gave them all that free, valuable information?

3) Offer solutions to help ease their pain.

Once you identify your market's 'pain', offer solutions that provide relief. Then position your marketing to attract those people. Try to be very specific and focus on one particular issue and the solution you provide. When your service can provide a real solution to a pressing problem, you'll have no problem attracting business.

There are other things you can do to recession-proof your business. A great resource is Guerrilla Marketing. (http://www.gmarketing.com/)

What steps have you taken to build your business in this economy?

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