Market your shop through the slow down

With the erratic world economy we compete in, many shops have to cut expenses to ensure competitiveness. Some reductions are obvious and necessary. When business is slow, activities in advertising, marketing and sales are commonly at the top of the list of cuts. However, this is actually the time to increase spending on these activities.

When times are good and you’re busy, spending on sales and marketing is easier to absorb, and expanding these functions seems logical. But that’s also when your competition is marketing, making it more challenging for your shop to stand out. In addition, when business is robust, costs associated with marketing efforts are usually at a premium. If you’re busy and not desperate for work, it’s illogical to spend lots of money seeking business when concentrating on customer service and careful job selection makes more sense. The time to become aggressive and sell your operation like never before is when things slow down and new work is a must.

The means vary to accomplish this goal, but finding an effective technique is crucial. Some shops find success advertising in industrial directories. Others reap benefits from trade shows and trade magazine ads. Others lack funds for any of that and instead conduct marketing techniques in person and on the street, like personally delivering sales packages and following up until given an opportunity for business.