Beyond blog marketing
With the economy softening in nearly every industry, staying afloat has become the day-to-day challenge many business owners are contending with; gone are the days of obsessing over growth and profits. In the process of staying afloat, however, many companies do themselves a disservice by failing to set a solid foundation for business growth once the cycle comes full circle, and times the good times roll again. In focusing on operations rather than strategy, many businesses fall into the trap of downsizing and cutting costs to the point that, when the economy recovers, they will have to find and train new employees, increase benefits, etc, in a more competitive labor market, making that labor more expensive and translating into time lost – time that could have been spent getting a leg up on the competition.
While keeping businesses as efficiently-sized as is possible is always important to keep profitability high and shareholders happy, and while cutting costs should also always be near the top of any small business owner’s agenda, business owners should not fall into the trap of not trying to grow their businesses during economic hard times. History has shown time and time again that businesses that succeed are businesses that invest in their own success at all times, since investing “when the time is right” is always investing too late.
So while you as a business owner would do well by cutting costs, think about ways to grow your business: marketing and pricing are the two easiest ways to grow. As far as marketing goes, don’t discount conventional media just because Adwords and SEM are the latest trend. Consider targeting your segment of a massive audience by producing a commercial or 30-second spot, paid for with the savings from your recent cost cutting. Video commercial production is relatively easy; you only need to find a competent commercial production company, of which there are many. (And, in these harder times, you’re sure to get a better rate for producing a commercial that you can save for better times later.) Television commercials are unrivaled in creating brand awareness and targeting a precise segment, and conventional advertisers are steeply discounting advertising now, as many less informed companies run for the exits, and perhaps their own demise in the process.
By emphasizing growth in conjunction with efficiency, you will get through these tough times while growing your customer base. This is sure to keep you afloat and put you into solid position to be the leader in your region or industry when it rains again, and the money once again flows as it did in recent years.