by The Green Fairy

Created on: March 13, 2010

Here are some tips for raising the profile of a small business during the economic downturn.

When sales fall it's necessary to raise the level of marketing in order to keep business coming in. The trick to being successful is to find marketing solutions that are inexpensive. These suggestions are based on genuine experience and have been proven to work for businesses across the world.

1.  Increase your presence on the internet. The internet is now the primary source of reference for many people in the developed world so your business needs a website, even if it's just a few simple pages explaining who you are and what you do. In February 2010 the British government launched an initiative called 'Getting British Business Online' with the purpose of doing exactly that. They recognised that over a million small businesses were missing out on opportunities because they didn't have a website

2. Build a network of contacts. Capture as many names and addresses of current and potential customers as possible. Use simple competitions or promotions to get hold of postal and email contact details, taking care to comply with your local rules about data privacy.

3. Make regular contact with your customers. Email newsletters are a great way of reminding people who you are and what you do. The newsletters need to be full of useful tips and ideas so that the reader feels they're getting value from the time they spend reading it. By giving people useful information you're building the value of your brand because they see you as someone they can trust.

4. Utilize networking opportunities. Invest some time talking to people. Networking is not a mysterious way of selling, it's simply engaging with people around you and developing relationships with them. If people know who you are and what you do they're more likely to buy from you or recommend you to someone else. If you get involved in formal networking groups don't expect an immediate result, but be prepared to be surprised by people coming to you and saying 'so and so recommended your products'.

5. Advertise for free in your local newspapers. You can promote your business by celebrating an achievement with a press release. If it's well-written and not an obvious attempt at free marketing there's a good chance it will be published. A press release can celebrate an anniversary, an award, an association with a local charity, or some other landmark event. Send it to the newspaper with some well-chosen words and there's a good chance your business will be giving space for free.

These are a few suggestions for how a small business can achieve a higher profile in the recession while spending very little money. Innovative and forward-thinking business owners will soon be able to think of a few more based on what's available in their local environment, and with a little effort they can run entire marketing campaign for almost no cost.

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