Have you read today's headlines? Gas prices up for the 3rd straight day; Starbucks to close 600 unprofitable stores; and perhaps most disturbing to us entrepreneurs and business/marketing consultants, the June ADP National Employment Report® and ADP Small Business Report® showed small business employment (defined as businesses with fewer than 50 workers) added 7,000 jobs during June, the smallest gain in nearly six years. Here's the breakdown by sector:
- Total small business employment: +7,000
- Goods-producing sector: -27,000 small business jobs
- Service-providing sector: +34,000 small business jobs
None of this news portends a sunny future for those of us in either b2b or b2c. So what to do? Worry, Binky, doesn't pay the bills. Get up off your butts, take a deep breath, and use smart, cost-effective tactics to find new customers. Start by cleaning up your own house.
- Change your web site content to reflect the times. Let potential customers know you feel and understand their pain, and have solutions to deal with it. These are the same solutions you are using in your own business.
- Write about these solutions on your blog and share them with your social networks and distribution lists.
What do those solutions look like? Try these:
- Mini-direct mail campaigns. Do online searches for your ideal clients and customers. Each week, send 5 - 10 of them a letter introducing yourself and share how you can help them. Tell them you would like to add them to your e-newsletter or monthly thought paper that contains cost-effective ways to grow a business. Include a sample. Be sure to provide the recipients an easy way to opt in.
- e Newsletters and Thought Papers. If you currently don't do one of these monthly or at least quarterly, start. Write about ways that businesses can cut costs or grow cost-effectively. Provide easy and low-cost solutions or share ideas that guarantee both short- and long-term returns.
- Step up Social Networking. Introduce potential clients to social networking. Explain how to create good profiles and how they can share their expertise by actively participating in Q&As and by sharing their blogs, for those who have them. For those who don't, share the steps for creating successful blogs designed to reap returns.
- Step up Networking. Now is not the time to drop your professional memberships. Face-to-face networking is one of the best ways to grow your business by getting noticed.
What are your solutions to growing your business in down economic times?
