by Karen Jones

Created on: February 20, 2009   Last Updated: March 02, 2009

Staying afloat as a company during periods of economic downturn requires a strong marketing strategy and exemplary customer service. Those that fail to market their business, will undoubtedly fail to attract new customers and therefore are liable to cease trading. A consolidation of effort and commitment, whilst working within a realistic budget rather than cutting the number of employees or reducing the advertising and marketing budget is the way to survive the turbulent market during a recession. So how can this be achieved?

If you have a saleable product, then customers need to know about your business. The most cost effective forms of marketing are those that have a long display period. Forget placing an advert in the local newspaper - as soon as the purchaser has read it, the paper will be discarded. This form of advertising can be expensive and cannot guarantee to reach the niche market that you are hoping to sell into. The most accessible media to customers looking for a product are trade directories, telephone directories (such as the Yellow Pages in the UK), on-line searches, community newsletters (for local businesses), and magazines (which have a longer life than daily newspapers).

The most obvious route is to have an online presence. Paying for a professionally created website will soon generate interest in the marketplace. You will need to register this with the major search engines by using key words. Write articles that can be linked to this site, and also link and network it with other local businesses. Perhaps you have a local business consortium that will include you on their list of member traders. Creating your website will be a cost-effective way of reaching consumers. Once you have created your virtual shop-front, there will be negligible maintenance charges (for example maintaining your domain name).

Design and print small brochures - these can be relatively inexpensive, especially if you use a folded A4 page which can be folded. Include a copy of this with all invoices, to make existing customers aware of other products, and also send these to prospective clients through targeted mail shot marketing. Brochures are likely to be kept for access at a later date.

If you have a small local business, it is well worth investing in a large print-run of postcards that feature a photo of your business premises or your product as well as a 'special offer' to local residents. Arrange for these to be delivered to each household in the area. This is especially handy for small businesses such as: car mechanics, mobile hairdressers, garden services and taxi services. The community that you work and live in is likely to be your best advertising and marketing tool - reputations are made and gossip spreads quickly. Many businesses can survive on 'word of mouth' recommendations.

Remember, to make money you need to spend money. Marketing makes a statement, it keeps your company name alive during times of recession, without it you will sink.

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