Time to batten down the hatches. Reign in the expenses.
Let's start with the easy stuff. . .marketing & advertising.
STOP!
The businesses that excel during these economic times realize that opportunities abound and capitalize. Now is the time to not only increase your presence, but you can do it without spending anymore than you already are. In fact I'll be willing to bet that you can INCREASE marketing and in turn increase your customers by utilizing many of the online tools and taking advantage of deals with traditional media outlets and spend less.
Let's start with some of the traditional media channels like newspapers and radio. In many parts of the country those ad spots were consumed by home builders, Realtors, retail and restaurants, many of the hardest hit segments of the economy. Space was at a premium and the media channels could charge list rates. Gone are those days. As an example, we have recently negotiated for our regional launch, many steep discounts in these channels because the usual suspects have pulled up stakes. So if you're a small service business, don't hesitate to ask for deals, especially package deals that include a combination of traditional and online space. You'll be surprised at what they'll be willing to offer!
Now for the some of the things that don't cost anything but a little bit of time and commitment. Many involve utilizing the web to (because more than 65% of people now search for local services on the web) build your business and increase your customer count.
1. Start a blog. You are an expert in your field, so let people know it. Consumers are looking for help and they turn to experts. By setting up a blog you can offer tips & tricks, interact with customers and build trust. Many of the top blog sites are free and very easy to set up. The major ones are; blogger, wordpress and typepad. And if you already don't have a website, this is perfect way to create one.
2. Contribute to community and business related forums. These are great ways to increase your local presence online and connect with other related professionals that will help you improve your referral base. Simply do a search like; "Sarasota forums", "pet sitting professionals" or "Pittsburgh community". You'll probably find an onlie forum, community or both. Don't be intimidated by these online venues, they welcome newcomers that can contribute knowledge from an area of expertise.
3. Join a networking group or several. For a service business these are some of the best ways to develop a referral network. Many other professionals and businesses like Realtors, attorneys and the like are constantly asked by their clients if they know someone who does this or that. If you do THIS or THAT then you need to be there. People refer people they know so go and meet them!
4. Join Facebook. What is Facebook? Isn't that for kids? NOT ANYMORE. Your friends are there, your business acquaintances are there and. . .your future customers are there. More and more, small businesses are learning how to use Facebook to reach out to new customers and build trust with current customers by interacting and gaining feedback. And if you don't know how, I'm sure someone around you can help.
These are just a few of the easy and inexpensive things you can do now to increase your business and we'll post more in the future. If you have any other ideas that you would like to share or have something that has helped your business in particular, please share it by responding to this post! And if you'd like help in figuring out some of theses please email us.
Joining a networking group is very important when you want to pass referrals. I am an accountant who has been exchanging referrals for many years now. It gets hard to keep track sometimes, so that is why I joined Referral Key (www.referralkey.com).
This online networking group has allowed me to exchange business referrals with my trusted network in a very easy and organized way. I also can manage my relationships to make sure that they are mutually beneficial
Posted by: Michael | October 22, 2008 at 01:39 PM