So many people say that now isn’t the best time to be in small business because of the economy or the amount of competition but I completely disagree. Many great brands have been built during recessionary times and now, more than ever, there are doors that are opening every day for you. Here are five reasons why you should dig in and make your business great and improve your customer relationships, NOW:
1. Many of your competitors are panicking and cutting their marketing costs. This is good for you because if you are doing things right, you should be marketing all the time. Because others are cutting back, your dollars will go further and make more of an impression when done well. This is how you engage your clients, create leads and keep the sales funnel full.
2. The big box stores are cutting all of the fringe products and services, creating niches for the rest of us. They can’t offer custom things. They can’t offer unbelievable customer service. You can and you need to if you want to come out of this economic climate shining.
3. We can have stronger relationships with our clients. The big box stores will never know the names of everyone who walks in the door but you can.
4. Technology affords us so many options. We can communicate with our clients from the soccer field with our IPads (I know you were all looking for a reason to go get one!). We have laptops and Internet on our phone. There is no reason not to stay connected with our clients.
5. We are REAL people. Our clients know us personally and hopefully, like us. We can engage our clients on Facebook and Twitter and all of the many social media networks available at our disposal. Large companies have a much harder time with this because their scale is so much greater. Building and cultivating your database is one of the most important marketing functions we all have.