Tonight, I was chatting with a successful land developer about the economy. He’s essentially retired but still builds an occasional house whenever he needs some extra spare change. He’s put his “hobby” on hold now for about 6 or so months. He’s got a customer eager and ready to sign the contract on the next house … but that customer is waiting and waiting for his own house to someday sell.
I honestly have moments when I forget about the current economic condition due to the busy-ness of my company. Well, until I remember that I also have a house on the market! The housing slump has trickled down and affected a broad scope of businesses. I’ve got a friend who does excavation for horse riding arenas and other luxuries and, with the rate of loan defaults, banks are just not so readily handing out loans for such luxuries. As a result, his business has been tight and he’s been forced to try to sell off some of his equipment to minimize his monthly payments. Only problem is that it’s the worst time to attempt to sell expensive excavation equipment because everybody else is experiencing the same financially tight times and they’re trying to off load their equipment too! People are taking a loss just to survive.
So … how can you turn the current economic conditions into an advantage for your business? It’s during the “tight times” that many of your competitors are easing up on their marketing budgets. I’d venture to guess that many have pulled back on even their search engine optimization budgets. If you’ve had a struggle in the past to promote your brand and keep it out in the front, now is the time to invest in marketing. And I’m not just trying to promote web marketing. Now is the time to go all out and put yourself in front of the crowd. You might be able to get a better deal on a radio ad or tv spot than last year. You might be able to find a bargain for running some print ads. Some web marketing companies may even lure you in through attractive promotions. Take advantage of a playing field sloped in favor of your company! Instead of drawing back and slashing your advertising, this is a prime time to get out there and dominate.
If you’d like to give me a call sometime and brainstorm about ways to push your business (be it a small mom & pop, an internet startup, a doctor’s office, a law firm, etc.), I’d be glad to talk. Better yet, if you are in York, Pennsylvania or Baltimore, give me a call or drop me an email (info at sozofirm dot com), and I’d love to pop down in person and chat.
Thanks for dropping by the site!
Andrew Jensen
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