1. Don’t Cut Back On Marketing
Restructure your efforts but don’t stop or reduce marketing. If there was a time that a business owner might have more time to spend marketing, I would think that time would be now. A growing business must realize the competition is fierce and every other business is probably as hungry as the rest. Think about trimming the fat from your marketing strategy and focus on the marketing that is currently working.
If you can get media coverage by having an interesting story for a journalist or having contacts in the field, take advantage of that. Coverage by media is a great way to let people know about your business. One diner owner is Los Angeles once experienced a decline in visitors because of road construction. He decided to give all the construction workers a free lunch and called the media to tell them about it. The media covered his story and traffic to his business immediately increased because of his “charitable” act.
2. Keep a Clean House
Take the extra effort to make sure the online marketing you have in place is clean and tidy. Don’t keep outdated content on the homepage, check for typos, broken images etc. It’s true that the first impression is lasting and it’s difficult to regain confidence once a potential customer has left your website with a bad taste.
3. Engage the Social Network
Set up social network platforms on Facebook & Twitter as well as any other networking site that interests you. And be active in them. I know its hard to engage all the platforms but at the very minimum these 2 mentioned need to be a priority. Why? Because this is where the world is. Friends, family, their friends and family, clients, just about everyone is using a social media outlet. Get connected. Stay connected.
4. Analytics?
A large number of website owners have analytics but don’t pay any attention to them. Analytics can tell you where you need to focus your efforts on item #2 “Keep A Clean House.” You can find where most people exit your site, what keywords are working best for you and which ones could be doing better. And that just scratches the surface. Run these reports and know how to apply the information.
5. Don’t Price Yourself Out of the Market
But don’t sell yourself short either. Economies have a natural cycle of supply and demand. When the supply is high and the demand is low, prices go down. During a recession, prices may naturally decrease. Be aware of your competitors pricing structures and stay competitive.
