e-dreaming

I keep beating the same drum: DO SOMETHING!  Don't just sit there waitig for the economy to improve.  So the logical question then is, SO WHAT DO I DO?!?

Great question.  Obviously, the answer varies depending upon the kind of business you're in, what your competition is doing, what has or has not worked in the past, what your budget is (or how much you're willing to squeeze out of a non-existent budget), the size of your market, and the margin on what you're selling.  But here are a few general thoughts to get the creative juices flowing:

• send a unique direct mail piece to customers who bought from you a year ago
• call all of your existing customers and ask them for a referral (and offer an incentive, if you can, for doing so)
• throw a party or special event to thank all of your customers; invite everyone on your prospect list
• send an email to your vendors, asking them for referrals
• start a blog, and then invite all of your customers and prospects
• look into search engine advertising (we here at 30dps even have a special promotion going for $100 in free Google advertising for those who have never tried it)
• grab a stack of business cards (20-30) and spend an entire day going places you normally don't go, and see if you can hand out every card before the end of the day
• do an online search for whatever it is you sell; see who shows up at the top of the list; if any are directories (e.g. yellow-page type websites), find out how much it costs to buy a premium placement, or at a minimum, make sure you take advantage of their free listings, if offered
• do a search for your company, then make sure your (free) Google Local listing has been claimed and is up to date
• send a quality HTML email to all of your customers, offering a discount or special offer

      OR

• hunker down and take that time to pack up, talk to the landlord about getting out of your lease, and figure out what you'll do next.

Okay, I'm being a bit dramatic with the last one, but the reality is that if the economy continues on the current path, some businesses will fold.  The question is, which ones will fold, and which ones will survive and even thrive?  I contend that the answer is, those that invest in marketing will be much more likely to survive (the statistics support that).  And, as you can see from the list of examples above, it doesn't necessarily take a lot of money.  It takes creativity, patience, and diligence—it takes a willingness to do it.  Are you willing?  If you need help with execution, we'd be honored to serve.