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MARKETING: ATTRACTING NEW AND CURRENT CUSTOMERS IN TOUGH TIMES

Don't cut back on marketing efforts, say the experts. According to Sandy Davidson of the USC Small Business Development Center in Charleston, "Research has shown that businesses that cut advertising during recessions lose market share and are slower to see a recovery when the economy improves."

In fact, you might even need to increase them. "[T]his is the time you need marketing the most," says SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Business. "Along with reassuring your current customers that you are still there to serve them, marketing can help you reach new markets that will sustain your business now and facilitate its growth in the future."

Check out the marketing advice from the experts:

  • "Review your marketing campaign and focus on those activities that generated the most sales in the past," says Reka Mosteller of the USC-Aiken Small Business Development Center.
  • "Differentiate with strong marketing to drive leads and sales," says SCORE. "The company that stands tall, strong and visible in the marketplace has stature and status."
  • Market your business as a low-cost alternative, suggests the Clemson Small Business Development Center. "With limited disposable income, customers may choose you rather than a higher-priced competitor.
  • "For retailers -- Focus everything on making your business a destination [and marketing it that way]," says Sandy Davidson. "Destination retailing is the most effective way for an independent retailer to survive against national chains."
  • "Your web presence is an increasingly important aspect of your networking strategy," says Scott Bellows of the USC Small Business Development Center. "Did you know that you can get started with your own domain name and website for $10/year (including office suite software)?!"
  • "Consider publishing email newsletters and sales alerts. Let people sign up for them on your Web site," says SCORE.
  • Reposition ad costs if necessary, says John LaFond of the SCORE Midlands chapter. Think about how you can get more bang for the buck by spending as much or less on marketing measures that might be more effective. For example, you might run radio ads on a station that reaches a large area, but your business only serves those in your immediate community. Think about how you could better target those potential and existing clients in the location you serve.
  • Consider bundling your products, says the SCORE Grand Strand chapter. "Provide special sales offerings or more attractive pricing -- [for example] buy two get one free, get free glass of wine with order of calamari, etc." Adds John LaFond, "It moves products because it sounds better than, say, 33 percent off."
  • Entrepreneurs should always look for ways to employ free, low-cost and word-of-mouth marketing," says Bernell King Ingram of the South Carolina Women's Business Center. "There are numerous creative and effective alternatives to traditional that are less costly for businesses to employ." (For some ideas, see the social media advice below.)

And check out the marketing advice on using social media:
The following is from Reka Mosteller:

Promoting your site or business through social media channels is a low-cost promotional method that may generate large numbers of visitors to your Web site and thus may increase your sales. Social media [refers] primarily to internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among people. There are many different types of content distributed, from video, images, articles, news and references, to shopping and others. Some of the most well-known social media sites are YouTube, Flickr, Digg, Metacafe, StumbleUpon, Technorati, BlogCatalog, Del.icio.us and Twitter. For example, Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. [It can be] perfect for announcing special events, assuming your clients use Twitter.

Given the constraint of small businesses' resources [like] time and money, I recommend that business owners develop a good company Web site that provides information about the company's products and services, contact information and other information that customers want (qualifications, warranties, commendations, order forms, etc.), and use social media marketing techniques to generate traffic to the Web site. Customers' social media usage may provide ideas of which sites to utilize most.