When the Going Gets Tough
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Faced with disastrous near term prospects, you could join the rest of the herd and cut costs wherever you can, hunker down and wait for good times to return. An alternative I would suggest is to take advantage of your competition while they are hibernating. More than likely, they’ve cut advertising losing the mind share of existing and potential customers, cut back in other areas costing them in quality and customer service and possibly in sales alienating existing accounts. What better time to go on the attack.
Whether you are a one person show or a large organization there is no better time to invest in current accounts and get new ones. This does not necessarily require significant expenditures, just a positive attitude and desire to grow no matter what the economic climate. Here are a couple of ideas you can use to leverage existing customers and new customers alike.
Newsletter – If you don’t already have one, start one. This is an inexpensive way of communicating with your customers and prospective customers. Not only do you send a message that keeps your name in front of them, you can introduce products and services that play to their needs in tough times.
Training – This can be a great revenue generating opportunity or a goodwill offering. With headcount reductions, responsibilities are being transferred between individuals fast and furious. People new to your product or service will need help. If the opportunity presents itself, make it generic so people with competitive products or just interested in product will be drawn to your program as well. An economical and convenient way to do this is via teleconferencing and file sharing.
Telephone Contact – While driving or flying around to see all of your customers may be prohibitively expensive, calling them and all of your prospects is a personal touch that will count. Calling to see how they are doing, if they have any complaints, to discuss a new product or just wish them happy holidays is worth the time and effort.
Questionnaire – This has many of the same benefits of a other contact methods and gives you great marketing intelligence. If you want to know what the market would find worth buying in a recession, ask.
This is a great time to go on the offensive. Let Humerlis help design and implement your customer contact plan. We have the people and the technology to help you make a positive impact on your bottom line. Call us today and we can begin helping you grow.
Richard Gabel
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