How to survive and thrive in a difficult
economy.
Sep 1st, 2011
Ok, the economy is rough... I am experiencing it too. So what can
you do? Work harder, try to do more with less and hope for the best. Is that my strategy? I'll
admit sometimes it is.
I don't just want my business survive I want it to thrive. So I
did some reading on this, and here are a few of my take-a-ways:
First.
Confront the cold hard facts. Before I can develop new strategies
I need to assess where I am. So I asked myself a lot of questions. What do I do with excellence?
What should I stop doing? What I am passionate about doing? How do my passions relate to the market
that will buy my products? What can I do better, faster? Where can I cut out overhead so I can drop
my pricing while keeping decent margins? Are there any new markets I can open that I have not
considered? Assessment is always first.
Next.
How is my marketing? Am I in the social network world? How is my
web site doing? Do I even know? Developing an honest assessment of my shortcomings is a healthy
exercise. As always the list is long. This, btw, is one of the things I love about being a small
business owner. There is no place to hid from myself. It is the best self-improvement program I
have ever encountered!
Sometimes the cold hard facts are discouraging, or worse. The key
is to look at the bad news and not give up. How do you keep your faith in the face of ridiculous
odds? This is the $64K question. I place my faith in God because I have experienced that He is
trustworthy!
So here are a few thoughts from what I read on developing an
overall business marketing strategy that will help your business to grow:
1) Business is relationships -
plain and simple. People buy from those they like and trust. Let me repeat that: people buy from
those they like and trust. My overall philosophy is to develop close relationships with my current
customers and seek to develop new relationships with those who will become my customers - my
prospects.
2) Current Customers. If I lose
them I am finished. I am now being more purposeful at developing better relationships with my
current customers. Trying to be more human with them and attempting to make a stronger connection
with them as people. Simply listening to people affirms them and makes them feel important. What I
am finding is that my customers are interesting, complex people who are slugging it out just like
me. We have a lot in common and we talk about this commonality. The more I know them as people the
better I will understand their needs and desires. And the better I can meet those needs with the
products and services I offer.
3) Warm Prospects. I hope these people will
become my new customers. I endeavour to treat them the same way I want to be treated; and to serve
them with distinction and excellence. Again, I relate to them as people by simply being
myself, extending a hand as a fellow human. I also seek
their best interest, even if it means agreeing with them on a buying decision that
does not include my company. The same principle applies
here as above with my customers. The better I know them and their needs the better I can develop
and offer my services to match.
4) Cold Prospects. For my business this category
needs the most work. The idea is to turn people who don't know me or my business at all into
interested warm prospects. The basic framework is to quickly provide these people with helpful,
accurate information so they see our business as trustworthy and worth considering. Providing
incentives to act is important too. Building trust is vital in this phase of the relationship. Lack
of trust is a relationship stopper.
When I interact with anyone as a business owner, whether a
customer or prospect, I need to provide accurate, expert information and creative ideas all in a
timely manner. People are affirmed as important when I hear their heart and respond to them with
creativity, honesty, and selflessness. This sounds like a brief definition of love. You know; love
is patient, love is kind, it does not demand it's own way; it basically puts others
first.
One last thing. My view is that business is just an extension of
life. I believe that a full satisfying life is available in these difficult economic times by
giving my life away in service to my customers. It has been written that we gain our life by giving
it away, and will lose our life by trying to hold on to it. I know this to be true from first hand
experience. I hope these few words will encourage you. Give it a try!
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