Today is very uncertain. We wonder how our customers are going to have the money to purchase from us and constantly hear about the government taking more of our hard-earned dollars and wasting it.

When a market is crowded, burdened by a sluggish economy as we now have, only the fearless survive.

In economic times like these, the natural tendency for a business is to hunker down, cut back on expenses and try not to lose the business it has. Here’s a news flash—that’s exactly the strategy that will do you in and destroy you.

If you are not the business that is standing out, and standing for something important, your days could be numbered. Use the strengths of what makes you different to make a difference with your customers.

Now is the time to reward your customers for their loyalty, take them out to lunch, and stay connected through communications to them. This is the time and the moment, to deepen customer relationships to ensure your security and your business’ future.

It’s time to focus on what you do better than any other business and put that out there to your customers and prospects.

Businesses that shine a light on what is different about them are well positioned to make a difference in this economy. Getting behind a cause is good for business and makes you look like a hero.

Conformity is not distinguishing you as unique. You must keep reinventing yourself, changing with the times and with your customers as they change. You should be true to the essence of who you are, and giving everyone the image that you are brand new.

In these times of uncertainty, many individuals are confused about what to do and how to do it. Remember, uncertainty makes everyone, including me, question our own personal value and the value of our business, and why we are doing things. The fearless among us overcome these doubts by creating action, belief, and courage.

It is time to start raising your hand to make a difference. The story you convey about your company is what others will believe. You have a unique power to have others believe that you are indispensable; that is exactly what you will be, if you believe. So believe in yourself and you will overcome these times.

This brings up another important point: belief in yourself and what you offer is an important part of succeeding in this economy. Do you agree?

Technorati Tags: customer loyalty, customer relationship building, surviving the recession

When Business Gets Slow and cash is low, What can you Do?

There are times when a business goes from generating extra cash to generating not enough cash.  Any business that has been around for a few years will experience the ebb and flow of our economy…especially in a recession.

There are several ways to promote your business, whether you have an offline business, online business, or home business.

One way that comes to mind usually is to run a price promotion.  It is easy to do and will often fill the immediate need for short-term capital. It’s especially easy if you have an active, loyal email customer list.  Long range, it’s likely to hurt though.  I don’t mean to imply that price promotions are all bad.  They are often good. Close-outs or special promotions will help both the supplier and the customer. 

Another way is to create a fun event where you invite your A-list of customers to attend and receive offer discounts.  You could say that the new inventory is coming in soon, and you want to give them the advantage of saving some money in this terrible economy.  I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you can come up with ideas.

A third way could be as simple as creating new methods of advertising your product or service.  An ad, a poster, or even a new display unit, are some of the methods that could be used to boost sales and generate some quick cash.

I remember a friend who had an appliance store.  When he received a stove that had a dent in it, he advertised it at a low price and told his customers that the reason why was that it had a small dent in the bottom that they wouldn’t even notice.

When he had over 300 people inquiring about the item, he quickly realized that he could sell a lot more units, if he intentionally dented the units.  He did, and sold out immediately.  He does this all of the time now and makes a small fortune.  It’s a win-win…his customers get the units at lower prices and he gets sales.

What is important when business slows down is that you are willing to do something to get things moving. 

Let me know your thoughts.

Technorati Tags: boost sales, close-outs, generating extra cash, home business, offline business, online business, price promotion, quick cash, Recession, special promotions

Last month, I flew from Aruba to Las Vegas to attend the Speakers & Authors Networking Group Event. When the event was over 3 days later, I flew back to Aruba.

The reason I went to all of this trouble of flying, is because I’m still investing in myself and still learning from others. And whenever I learn anything, I impart it to you.

The speakers at this event included Alex Mandossian, Tony Robbins, Rich Schefren, Joe Polish, Joel Bauer, Les Brown, and quite a few others who are making tons of money in these tough times.

The key message from everyone was that there definitely is an economic problem and we won’t come out of it soon, but that it is in these tough times that we all need to help each other to survive. I’m doing my part to help you survive, so that you and your company are still here when the economy turns around.

If you are having problems in any areas of your business, get some help. Don’t try to solve it all by yourself. Get input from others. As a matter of fact, you can get input from me by asking your questions using the comment box under this message.

Technorati Tags: alex mandossian, business survival, joe polish, joel bauer, les brown, rich schefren, surviving the recession, tony robbins

With today’s economy being what it is, you should reevaluate where and how your Marketing dollars are being used.

Here are some ideas to consider:

1. Market to your existing customers.  As you all know, it costs a great deal less to market to your existing customers than to constantly go after new ones.  You definitely have to seek out new customers, but your existing customers are easier to reach and to build profits from at a quicker pace. If you direct your efforts and money towards your existing customers, who already love you, you will get a greater and faster return on your marketing dollar.
2. Communicate with your customers.  I have found that the number one reason existing customers don’t return to do business with you is not because they don’t like you.  It is because you let them forget about you. When I had my companies, I made it a point to consistently communicate with my customers.

It always amazed me whenever I asked my audience, at the various seminars I did, how may of them consistently sent out a direct mail piece to their existing customers; over 90% of them said perhaps once a year. You must send out communications to your customers at least 6 times a year.  I prefer more than 12 times a year. In fact it should be as often as needed to convince them to visit you more often and/or purchase your product or services.
You work very hard to get your customers, so contact them often.  Increase the frequency of mail to them or call them more often.  You can create a data base of their emails, and email them often with offers and ways in which you can help them.
Again, to accomplish this you must collect the contact information of your existing customers, prospective customers, and even people you meet a various get-togethers, and then communicate with them consistently.

3. Reevaluate your advertising.  The size of your ad doesn’t necessarily mean that you will receive better results.  The size of your ad also doesn’t produce as much consumer confidence that consistently running an ad does. 

By running smaller, less expensive, but consistent advertising you can become more effective in the long run.  One of the keys to advertising success is repetition. A one time shot with a large ad will not create as many customers as a smaller ad that is viewed over a period of time

4.  For those of you who have invested in my report, “How To Save Up To 80% On Your Advertising Costs,” you have found out that most magazines and newspapers will cut their price from their regular rate cards if you only ask them to.  Business is very difficult for them these days because of the economy, and some will do anything to save an existing customer or win over a new customer, by reducing their rates.

Look at advertiser’s rate cards as a guide to negotiate a great price and to seek out FREE media exposure. Also, if you are going to advertise with them, make sure that they allow you to create a feature story about you and your business.
Remember that when there is a feature story about you, the reader will think of you as the expert.

I hope these few ideas will help you to survive this recession and will help you to live the lifestyle you desire.

Technorati Tags: marketing, marketing dollars, marketing in recession, Recession

We’ve all been reading over the last few weeks how the bottom is falling out of the stock market and individuals are losing over 30% or more in their 401K or pensions.  You might deal with others, as customers, who are now attempting to get you to lower your prices.  Or when you call one of your suppliers, you get the message, “The number you dialed is no longer in service.”

Wow. Do these scenarios sound familiar? Running a business is never a sure bet, but at times like this, it seems almost impossible to be successful in business.

Here are a few strategies to help you in these trying times.

1. Contact former customers.  Don’t assume that a customer who stopped buying from you in the past will not buy or do business with you again. Your customers’ needs and circumstances change often.  Communicate with them again and try to get them back as a customer.
2. You don’t have to be a mega corporation to take a hard look at your strengths and weaknesses.  In fact, the smaller you are the better you are positioned to switch gears and zoom back into action now and in the future. Analyze your existing sales and, most importantly, talk to your living and breathing prospects.  Ask them: What they need?  What can you provide them? What is the best way to solve their problems with what you have to offer?   Put it all down on paper and begin to analyze the information you gather.

Ask yourself: What are the easiest ways to make the most profit quickly? What should you be doing for the long term to ensure your business continues to grow and prosper? If you have a business plan, revise it based on the information you have gathered.

3.  Join with other vendors to create joint sales opportunities.  As I have always mentioned, referrals are the leading sources of new business for small businesses.  An easy way to get more referrals is to team up with other businesses who sell to the same market as you do but don’t directly compete with you.  Agree to refer business to one another and link to each other’s web sites.
4. Communicate consistently with your present customers.  Gather their email addresses and let them know that you are there for them, that you are always thinking of them, and that you are willing to help them in any way that you can.

I know that if you implement these few strategies you will be among the survivors of this coming Recession.

Technorati Tags: business survival tactics, marketing strategies, surviving recession

When faced with a downturn in the economy, there are a couple big mistakes a business can make:

1. Do nothing

2. Do the wrong thing.

Doing either of these can put the nails in your coffin.

The problem is that the fear of doing the wrong thing often
causes many business owners to do nothing. This often leads them to stop or cut back on their marketing. This is the worst thing a business owner can do.

But if you want to give yourself the best chance of making the right decision, what can you do?

Well one smart thing would be to pick the brains of successful business people and model what works.

What if you could have 38 of the top marketing experts tell you what they would do in a recession to keep their business growing? Do you think that you might be able to pick up at least one thing you can do to help you prosper in this shrinking economy.?

Recently, I was interviewed by Scott Aughtmon about what I would do in a recession to make sure my business continued to thrive. Scott also interviewed Jay Levinson, Seth Godin, Michael Gerber, Yanik Silver, Alex Mandossian, and 32 other top experts in business, sales, and marketing about how they would survive in a recession.

To see what these experts said they would do, and to learn what you can do to prosper in this recession, GO HERE. It is definitely worth your time to check this out.

Technorati Tags: experts on recession, growing business during recession, Recession, survive the recession