During a downturn in the economy or a recession, businesses are forced to tighten their belts and take a second look at spending. But while other businesses may be suffering, your business does not have to be. Here are some tips to get you through the tough times.
Offer A Deal
As a business, try to focus on offering special deals on services that are easy for you to provide. Even if it is not one of your more profitable services, it is still better than nothing at all. Everyone is looking for a good deal, and they're going to get it from somewhere. It might as well be from you.
Invest In Marketing
Invest your precious money wisely by making your business look better than your competition. Although you may be tempted to cut back on all spending, cutting back on your marketing dollars could prove to be detrimental to your business. Divert more spending to marketing to capture any and all potential sales opportunities.
Every Lead is Precious
Treat every lead as an opportunity to make a sale. Even if it does not seem like the ideal lead, make the effort to contact them and see if you can make it work. Any business is better than no business.
Add Freebies & Incentives
Offer value added incentives along with your products and services. To entice your potential customers to choose your business, offer them either:
- Bundled discounts
- Promotions with a finite end date
- Freebies if they order x amount
- Referral incentives
Contact Former Clients
Hit up former clients / customers for referrals. Maybe they know of someone who needs your services. Or check if they are ready to do business with you again. Maybe they forgot your contact info and just needed that extra push.
Make Strategic Partnerships
To maximize your revenue stream, look for other businesses that can compliment your own. If you are a graphic designer, look for local printers that are willing to refer you business. Find like companies that are willing to pass on extra business that they can not handle and vice versa.
Improve Your Business Model
Take advantage of the down time to come up with ways to improve your business model. Take a look at your past projects to see what the pitfalls were and brainstorm ways of improving your project management methods. Working on your project efficiency is a great way to generate more revenue in a shorter time. If you finish projects faster, you will get paid faster. Improve your business model, strategies, and image in preparation for when the economy inevitably returns to its normal, healthy state.
Remember, there are lots of things you can do to improve your business, even during a recession.
