Yes, we’re in a big economic downturn.  Yes, it’s going to be here a while  (by all evidence other than the words of those who profit from saying otherwise..)  Yes, it’s going to be hard for a lot of people.

Yes, thousands of businesses have already closed their doors for the last time, and many more will close theirs before it’s over…

Yes, the market is shrinking, and there are less people spending money.  Your customer pool is smaller and they are spending less.

So, I have a question for you:  Why do otherwise-smart business people cut back on marketing when times get tough like this?

Have YOU ever wondered that, I mean really ‘thought’ about it with intent?  It’s a question that can bring a lot of light and valuable business-sustaining clarity.

The first reaction of most business people, when they are facing tough times is to “cut back on the marketing”!!!  It is, after all, a very large expense in most companies. So it’s an easy line-item to cut back on – or to cut!

What’s So… ‘Dumb’ About it?

WHY, when you know that customers are going to be tougher to ‘get’, would you PURPOSELY cut back on the one thing that brings ‘em in?

If your pool of available prospects (and the number of dollars they are spending) is shrinking, why add to your own suffering by refusing to take the one action that attracts more of them?

You’d think that all business owners and corporate leaders would be putting everything they’ve got into making the path from “prospect” to “customer” as slippery as possible during tough times.

You’d think that people who wanted their businesses to survive would ramp up their advertising and marketing efforts during tough times so that THEIR PIECE OF THE PIE (at least) stayed the same, even as the pie itself became smaller.

BUT MOST DON’T!

‘Business Suicide’ or Just Lack of Awareness?

It’s as though they’ve decided that they don’t deserve to win — or to even survive. The vast majority of business owners simply give up. And that is very, very strange to me… as a results-based marketer.

Don’t you still need to pay your employees? Feed your family? Provide for your own future?

I’ve been thinking about this for the last week or so, as I’ve been avoiding cable news, newspapers and talk radio. I thought a lot about this.   And now I understand.

LET ME ASK YOU this question…

EFFECTIVE Marketing? Strategic Marketing? What the Hell Is That?

Consider these 2 scenario…

#1. If you knew that when you gave away a dollar, you got back two dollars, how often would you repeat the process?

Over and over again, right?

#2. Now, what if you gave away a dollar, but didn’t know how much you’d get back? What if you sometimes got back more than a dollar, sometimes less, and sometimes nothing at all?

Put another way, what if you had NO IDEA AT ALL how much you were getting back?

You’d stop, wouldn’t you? Any rational person would. I would, but, then, I’m partial. (to me)

QUESTION: What’s the difference between those two situations?

ANSWER:   One is measurable, and one is not.

In the first situation, the dollar is an INVESTMENT– you gave it away, but it came back with friends. You know because the results are MEASURED.

In the second situation, the dollar is an EXPENSE — it goes away and you don’t know what happens to it- if it will come back, or if so, how.   The results are UNMEASURED.

The gut reflex of most businesses when faced with difficult situations is to CUT EXPENSES.

Those business owners who cut their marketing to the bone during tough times do that because they are not measuring their marketing. They can’t tell you, with absolute certainty, that when they spend a dollar, they get two back.

And so, out of fear, panic (an ignorance) they cut their marketing efforts.

When food is scarce, they stop eating – on purpose. They give up. They starve. Voluntarily. In business, we call this “going out of business”.

So what are YOU going to do?

What is your plan to survive over the next months… or couple of years? If you choose to survive — and I hope you do — here are six tips to help your business survive.

1)      DON’T STOP MARKETING/ADVERTISING.

All of the ‘losers’ will do exactly that. They don’t know what you are learning, right here, right now.  Since you are running a business (not a hobby), and since the ‘pie’ is shrinking, you MUST know where your best sources for customers are.  Figure out the BEST source of customers (the one that costs the least and works the best.  If you don’t know, and most business owners don’t, it’s time to find out!) In other words, don’t stop or cut back on the one thing that brings you money. STOP WASTING Mktg./Ad Dollars!!!

2)  GIVE YOUR PROSPECTS GREAT REASONS TO BUY NOW. GETTING MORE PEOPLE IN THE DOOR is the key to making every marketing dollar more effective.

3) MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY EXPOSURE OPPORTUNITY.

If you have exposures ‘naturally occurring’, (like street traffic passing your location, for instance), you need to attract their attention, and reach out to them every time they pass!   This is 10 times more effective and cost-efficient than ANY form of traditional advertising where you have to pay to GET the exposures!!!

4) GET THE EDGE ON YOUR COMPETITION.

The traffic is out there. Even in down times, millions of people still buy what they want, and they buy what they need. If the pie is shrinking, and you are gearing up to get a bigger slice of it, then you’ve got to understand where your SALES POSSIBILITIES will be coming from.

And, if you play it right, by stepping UP with effective marketing, some of it will be coming from your competitors.

You are going to be taking TRAFFIC that is currently theirs and MAKING IT YOURS..

I created a video to show you how to ‘legally and ethically “steal” your competitor’s traffic’.   I recommend you watch it.

5) INCREASE YOUR MARKETING FOCUS.

Once you’re measuring, targeting, capturing, and locating, it’s time to re-double your marketing efforts.

Like we discussed at the top of this article, the ironic thing is that in down times, most of your competitors are going to be cutting back on their marketing.   Truly stupid, in the conventional sense of the word, if their goal is to survive.

Your opportunity, right now, is to increase your focus on EFFECTIVE Marketing. You need new customers to survive, and to even THRIVE right now.

Do everything you can to INCREASE THE TRAFFIC coming to your LOCATION.  This new fight for business survival is really a FIGHT OVER TRAFFIC.  It’s either yours or someone else’s.   I’d rather it be yours.

I’ve got one more tip for you. And this may be the most important…

6) STAY POSITIVE.

I was talking with a good friend the other day. She’s recently gone through some very dark times. But she’s made it through — with a big smile on her face. And as we were chatting yesterday, she said “Yes, it was tough. But now I’m on the other side of it.”

I thought that what she said was profound.

Even now, in this economy, there is tremendous opportunity in this world for those who choose to create it, see it, and take advantage of it.

You, too, can get to the other side.

Imagine yourself there, for a moment, through the tough times, and into the happy, prosperous ones. This ‘crisis’ will be a real ‘crisis’ for those who think negatively and who cut back on the most critical function of their business –marketing.

But, like all ‘crashes’, there are those few, wise souls who will cash in by focusing their efforts on holding the ship above water, not by bailing, but by keep their focus where it belongs, on bringing in ALL of the business that IS available.

So, again, imagine the good times…. see yourself coming out on the other side of this ‘tough time’, stronger and richer.

You deserve to be there.

Dedicated to Increasing YOUR Profitability,

–Brian D. Ridgway

P.S. If this article impacted you in some way, please leave a comment.

Gary says the secret of marketing is to care. I agree. But, stop… and think about what follows that word. Care about ‘what’?  I’d say ‘everything’.

Care enough about your prospects that you won’t bring them any junk. Care enough about yourself that you won’t represent ANYTHING you can’t be passionate about.  Care enough about your future to stand firmly behind the right product in the right way for your customers and prospects.

When you do, the marketing message will flow, and the business will come.  To me, marketing from the heart is how to live a joyous life as a real marketer.  Promoting crap, however artfully, sucks!