“Are you crazy?” you may ask. All of the news media say that this is the worst recession since the Great Depression. Unemployment is near 10% and the world economy is tanking. So what’s an entrepreneur to do? The answer: Get out there and market your heart out! Business is cyclical; this recession may be worse than others in the recent past, but this too shall pass. To be sure, we have felt the pinch. We’re not running out and buying new cars today, and we’re holding off from some home maintenance until it’s absolutely necessary. But eventually, people’s cars will break down irreparably; furnaces will need replacement; houses will need a new coat of paint or a new roof; and at that point, we will have to bite the bullet and make those purchases that we are not making now. When that time comes, will you be ready?
Now is the best time to polish up your marketing. If you have some funds to advertise, use them. Update your website, print up new business cards and brochures. If you don’t have a lot of funds for advertising, there are still inexpensive ways to make your business known. Get out and network. Join your local chamber of commerce. Join a word-of-mouth referral group. Attend meetings and events regularly. If you don’t have work right now, you need to be finding ways to get your business known. It is of no benefit to anyone to sit and watch all the financial news channels and bemoan the state of the economy. Listening to the prophets of doom will not help the economy to improve, and it certainly will not get your phone ringing.
Eventually, people will want the types of products or services you provide, but they won’t be calling you unless they know you exist. Call, write or email your past customers. Let them know about your other products and services. Maybe they need something they don’t know you provide. Ask them for referrals. If you’re in real estate, most of your colleagues are probably either getting out of the business or sitting around complaining about how bad things are. You could join them, or you could be making phone calls. Prices are low; interest rates are low. Let your past clients know that this is a great time to be snapping up investment properties.
Our web design business is having its busiest year yet. We’re by no means out of the woods, but we’re also not standing still. Dr. Ivan Misner, founder of Business Networks International (BNI), a referral group to which we belong, says it best: I refuse to participate in a recession!
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