Marketing in a downturn
Ray, Capital Management Group, Anaheim Hills, Calif.
I am a management & financial consultant in California, assisting small businesses in the US and internationally. I work with them to improve their business model and organize business capital up to $25 million for them. We focus on manufacturing businesses and real estate projects. Can you suggest how to to market our services in current down turn? Businesses are not enthused to borrow and banks are tightening their standards significantly. We utilize search engine marketing as well as traditional methods like email news letters, marketing associates etc. However, qualified leads are declining with each marketing dollar spent.
What do you recommend? Leave a comment below with your answer.
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From chrisperkett Learn new tricks! Depending on your customers, social media can play a huge role in affordable and effective marketing. Twitter, for example has been touted in the WSJ, BusinessWeek, Fortune and others as a new and effective way to promote brand awareness – when done correctly.
Make sure you do your homework or hire a PR firm that can help you do it right.
Lastly, the one thing to NOT do is cut your marketing efforts completely. For more on why, read our post on "The Unintended Long Term Consequences of Slashing Your Marketing Budget Now." http://tinyurl.com/55q3e6
Good luck and don't give up!
Christine Perkett
President & Founder, PerkettPR Inc.
http://www.twitter.com/perkettpr
From Kathryn Christ, Jacksonville, Florida AG is absolutely right. If you're not experienced in social media, now is not the time to learn. Focus on your message and time-proven marketing strategies. In this economy you have to work harder to maintain revenues, much less grow. Keep your head up, stroke current and past clients and keep seeking new ones!
From Liz,Austin,TX First of all, this is the first rule to being successful in business. Debt is a liability and
1) DON'T borrow money because you will cause yourself to be a slave to the lender and they will own you.
2) Networking with websites that cater specific market niches that you are trying for.
3) Generate Podcasts and webinars via web banners and link up with other websites.
4) Chamber of commerce- great place to network with others to put out name recognition and drum up some business.
5)Newsletters are great.
6) Keep your message short and to the point.
From Keith Monaghan, Portland, Oregon Hi Ray,
Here are some ideas:
1. Stir up interest on twitter by posting short, relevant entries. Maybe links to financial & mgmnt articles?
2. Host a free financial or management webinar using Yugma.com or Vyew.com.
3. Organize a free off-site finance or management class using Meetup.com or Upcoming.com
From AG, Dallas TX Your methods for marketing (emails, newsletters, search) are still fine. It's the message that you need to focus on.
From the sound of it, your services should be more relevant to struggling small businesses than ever. So your message needs to be convey that clearly, by answering this fundamental question:
What's the benfit to having Capital Management Group by my side in tough economic times?
If you've got a great answer to that, you've got the foundation for a solid marketing campaign that'll resonate right now.
http://www.anonymousadguy.com.
From Altima Business Solutions, LLC You may want to try some social media sites (LinkedIn, Perfect Business and more). You also want to join those industries associations. One last thought, you may want to offer additional services such as factoring this can be the lead in service that will open the doors to other opportunities. Know this the business is there.
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As another small business owner, I am experiencing the same issues of finding new marketing channels, improving my usage of existing channels, and figuring out where to spend my time and money. I have started spending a lot of time establishing myself as an topical expert in areas related to my busines. I done this three ways:
1. Create a industry related blog and post daily. I make sure that I am concious of the "keywords" that Google is going to pick up in my postings, aiming to include as many as possible that will drive the type of traffic I believe will yield the best conversion rates.
2. Respond to blogs and in forums of other industry related content providers. Most blogs/forums allow you to have a signature line that will direct customers back to your site/company. Make sure that you are providing solid advice and interesting content, otherwise your potential prospects will just look at you as another forum spammer. Give out advice freely, and you will find that prospects will approach you for more information.
3. Set up a professionals morning breakfast in your area. I started a group and created a website, http://www.survive09.com to support the topics that we discuss. We avoid just swapping business opportunities, instead focusing on discussions related to how different businesses are working through this economic crisis. We leverage an online forum to exhange ideas and information outside of our monthly meetings.
None of these are short-term solutions, and they all require a commitment to daily/weekly/monthly involvement. You should start seeing results of your efforts in a few months.