3
Secrets to Profit in a 'Bad Economy'
When the perception in the marketplace is that there is a bad economy, you
must stand out against your competition. Even if you don't believe the
economic problems affect your business directly, your clients' confidence
may be suffering and they may be afraid to spend anything.
The three secrets are:
1. Use Outrageous Marketing
2. Let Your Personality Shine
3. Network, Network, Network
What is outrageous marketing? I know a woman who owns a wig shop and
occasionally attends the same networking meeting I do. When it's her turn
to give her 30 second intro, she whips off her hair - twice - to show her
beautiful wigs. She does this wearing a pretty cocktail dress. Everyone
remembers her.
You may be asking yourself how
you can use outrageous marketing. The first thing you have to do is
'decide' you are ready because you may feel uncomfortable, so you need to
be completely committed. You can be outrageous in your appearance, like
the wig woman, or you can be outrageous in your actions or your words.
You know how boot camps have
been growing in popularity over the last couple of years? How can one
stand out? Add 'kicks' to your product name. (If I were marketing a
fitness boot camp, I would probably have a great body - I would show it
off to also make an impression.) That word can pump up a lot of different
products and services, and really catches people's attention.
What words would catch the
attention of your target market that your competition is not already
using? What about fear-inducing words? For example: Do you know what your
children are doing at the babysitters while you are at work? Scary! Or:
The 5 Absolute Worst Foods You Can Eat. Don't you want to know what they
are?!
Behaving outrageously has
to be within reason, of course. You don't want to truly frighten people,
but you do want to catch their attention. Sing, dance, skip, offer free
stuff or huge discounts - whatever works. If you offer a deal so good that
it gets your target market lining up, excellent! If you offer a deal so
good everyone lines up, not excellent! You only want *your* people to be
excited, not everyone.
Why not everyone? Because
they'll just take the deal and leave, whereas your target market will hang
around and buy other, more profitable, stuff - again and again. You want
to build a relationship. Building relationships with your target makes
marketing easier and easier over time.
You must let your personality
shine in all you do. If your business persona is out of alignment with who
you really are, people will notice. Your clients want to know who you
really are so they can trust you. First you share with them all the ways
in which you can solve their problems and fulfill their needs, then you
give them a taste, then you let them get to know you a little.
They don't really care about you
at first, but they do want to feel a connection to you. It's difficult to
foster that if you are not being yourself.
And finally, Network,
Network, Network. Determine where your target market gathers and go
there. If your sales are down, advertising will cost you more than
networking - marketing basically either costs you more time or more money.
If your target goes to
networking meetings or mixers, join. If they hang out on Facebook, join
that. If they frequent singles mixers, go there. If they belong to a trade
organization, speak there and join. These are all ways to build
relationships with your target market for a minimal investment.
If you really don't know how to
be outrageous or genuine or how to network, get help. Read free articles,
take free teleclasses, read books and ask people. If that's not enough for
you, attend programs or hire a coach.
Just don't cut out your
marketing - that's the worst thing you can do. You might need to cut your
budget, but don't cut your marketing. Your marketing strategies will keep
new clients coming in and keep you afloat.
Copyright (c) 2008 Audrey Burton
