Don't buy in! Don’t go with conventional wisdom. It is possible to not only survive, but thrive during an economic slowdown. People still want and need products and services, but their buying habits are different.  Don’t get discouraged! History is full of examples of individuals and businesses that have grown during bad economies.The right mindset is the first step. Consider this an opportunity and LOOK for it in your business model.

Reinvent Yourself. Consumers expect deals during a recession. Give it to them! Repackage your services. Offer new programs with unprecedented incentives. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and ask, “What is an offer that I couldn't refuse?” Make them think it is too good to be true and then deliver. Watch your bottom line, accept the temporarily slimmer margins, and go for it. You’ll bring in new customers in who will stick with you.

Promote, promote, promote. Now is the time to promote your business like never before. To thrive during a recession, you have to be willing to work twice as hard promoting yourself to continue the growth in your business. That is the reality. And it is worth it.

Prior to the Great Depression, Kellogg’s and Post cereal were neck and neck. During the slowdown, Post pulled way back on advertising, but Kellogg’s maintained its ad campaigns. As a result, Kellogg’s emerged as the dominant brand and has maintained the advantage over Post to this day. Keep promoting yourself during a bad economy and you will take market share from your competition.

Negotiate with the media. Newspapers, magazines, radio stations, etc.. are willing to make you deals on advertising.  Don’t accept even their lowest contract rates as written in stone. Negotiate! Ask for a better deal, as you are likely to save up to 25% just for doing so.

Make every advertising dollar count. Don’t waste time on image advertising that does not bring a direct response and only advertise in low cost, high value, targeted publications with excellent reputations.

As an example of high value for every dollar, Healthy Times offers advertisers a chance to publish educational articles at no extra charge. We promote our advertisers to our other advertisers. We offer incentives that help pay your contract. We offer monthly payments with no interest. We offer expert overall marketing consulting and strategy to every client who is interested. In the end, clients end up paying as little as $97.50 per month and getting up to ¾ of a page worth of space. It’s impossible to find this kind of value elsewhere.

Ask for advice. You may not be seeing the forest for the trees. Ask people outside your business for advice. They may point to obvious solutions and give you good promotional ideas that you hadn’t considered.

Thriving is an attitude that is backed by creativity and a ton of work. Now go do it.

Need some ideas to grow your business? Let’s think outside the box. Call Mike Bundrant of Healthy Times Newspaper at 951-461-3456.