Marketing your small business in a recession

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:27:41 -0700

Is your small business struggling? If you’re business is going to make it through this economic downturn you can not continue to market your business the same old way.

Your market has most likely gotten smaller. Yep, there’s less people spending money on your products and services. Some of your competitors are not going to make it through this thing. You will because you’re smart enough to go looking for help like this blog. The fact is there are still people buying in your industry. The market has gotten smaller but probably has not completely dried up. So how are you going to market to those people who ARE buying RIGHT NOW. Think back over the past six months to a year. What specific items or services have customers been asking for? What types of people have called. What is their demographics? Think about if they have been mostly men, mostly women, how old they were, how much they probably make per year, where they live. Anything you can think of that may be an indication of WHO you should be marketing to right now.

Maybe your business has naturally attracted 30 to 45 year old males in the past but during this recession it seems that most of the activity you are seeing is coming from 40 - 60 year old females. You also notice that most of them live in a city that is 30 miles away from you. How can you change your marketing in order to attract more of this segment of the market that is purchasing during this economic downturn? You would need to know what this type of customer reads, what they listen to and watch. How to they ultimately spend their time. How are they influenced? Who do they trust? The answers should guide your marketing decisions.

You may have to sell products you don’t normally sell or offer service you don’t normally offer. If you want your business to survive you’ve got to be able to adapt to the changing environment.

Kevin C. Greene

Marketing your small business in a recession