Marketing Survival in a Failing Economy

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Permalink Reply by Pat Rebb on November 17, 2008 at 12:47pm

Marketing is always a challenge for small business. If there is less coming in, it is time to look at lower cost alternatives to market your business. Share cost of a mailing with like minded businesses. Network with businesses that provide complimentary products and services. Hit the pavement. There are also bargains to be found for your advertising. Advertisers are lowering their prices, you may be able to capitalize on the down economy by getting more ad space for a lot less than in past years.

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Permalink Reply by Lori Lowe on November 17, 2008 at 2:54pm

Personally I think there are opportunities for small businesses, entrepreneurs and freelancers who help fill the gaps when larger companies have to run a leaner ship with smaller staffs. For example, as a small communications business, my company is not looked at as a huge budget item to cut. I'm looked at as a way larger organizations can have the services they need (writing, advertising, marketing) when they need them without having to have a full-time person with benefits in that role. Entrepreneurs just have to position themselves as experts who can help companies be successful during a down time. I have not seen a decline in business. For those who find themselves out of work, this might also be a way to position yourself until you can find full-time employment. Businesses should NOT stop marketing during a recession or down period if you hope to survive until good times return.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Young on September 15, 2009 at 4:40pm

Here are two ways I recommend to market cost-effectively:

Search engine optimization: If the goal of your website is to drive website traffic, which leads to greater sales or inquiries, then you should start with the foundation of your website and its effectiveness in driving customer via search engines such as Google and Yahoo. This includes researching popularly searched keyword terms/phrases and building/editing your site structure and content to correspond with those phrases. Another low-cost tactic after you've optimized your site is pay-per-click search engine advertising, where you can pay 50 cents or more per click to drive traffic to your website.

Public Relations: Whether it's building relationships with local and trade media, writing articles and submitting them to publications for inclusion (with a bio and link back to your site), there are many ways to get your business name out there without spending a lot. There are reporters searching for stories and sources every day, so it's just a matter of finding them. And once you have media coverage, you can create an online news room full of press releases, articles, case studies and earned media coverage. This adds to your credibility and can lead to additional media coverage down the road.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Winebrenner on September 29, 2010 at 3:38pm

How is everyone doing this far into the recession?

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