STRATEGY ONE – Strategy is King…Status Quo is Dead!

Of all the things that entrepreneurs and small business owners fail to do, one of the most serious is strategic marketing planning. Strategic marketing planning in today’s marketplace IS the most important thing you should do. A Strategic Marketing Plan is a management tool that determines which steps to follow, and the methodologies and times to reach certain objectives. Gone are the days where marketing planning is an isolated activity! It has to be perfectly linked to the rest of the business functions (First contacts, billing, assistants/virtual, production, personnel, etc.)

STRATEGY TWO -Fall in love with your Clients/Customers again.

Use the time you spend with your clients to validate that you understand their changing needs as well as to demonstrate that you’re meeting their service needs. Emotionally satisfied – or “engaged” — customers and employees contribute far more to the bottom line than those who are rationally satisfied, according to numerous social neuroscience and behavioral economics studies. A J.D. Power & Associates study found that friendlier, more social employees earned 13% more revenue for their organizations. Author of Information Masters: Secrets of the Customer Race, John McKean’s research found that a whopping 70 percent of a customer’s decision to buy is based on how they are treated as people. Not the product. Not the price.

STRATEGY THREE – Assess & Tighten up your Operation.

When we ’re busy, it’s easy to get sloppy. We may stop thinking about how to be  more efficient. Use slower times to ask your staff how you can be more  streamlined, more efficient, and hence more cost effective. You might be  surprised how much wasteful activity has crept into your business. Make it your  job to keep services lean and effective. Set goals to measure your progress and  reward your staff each time a way is found to be more efficient without  compromising service to your clients.

STRATEGY FOUR – Don’t think outside the square–Think around corners.

Constantly look for gaps in the market that you can fill.

• Use your client connections to identify service gaps.

• Decide if the gaps you identify are for services you can provide.

• Plan how you will fill the gaps. Don’t wait for opportunities to present themselves to recognize and fill opportunity gaps.

Instead take a proactive position that can shift your business into a leader in your field rather than always playing catch up. You might end up offering a new service that you’d never previously had the time to consider. The process is relatively simple…ask questions!

STRATEGY FIVE – Don’t play the “me, too” or “wanna-be” game.

While it can be tempting to do what everyone else is doing in your industry, don’t do it because in today’s market it can mean the demise of your business. Remember there are LOTS of choices in your field today so must have something unique to differentiate your services from the next. If you don’t, your practice will be just another “me too” or “wanna-be”. Get rid of “herd thinking” it’s deadly to your business success. Creativity, client focus philosophy and superior service will win over the long term.

STRATEGY SIX – Throw out ‘our policy rules’…be flexible.

What will most surely guarantee your long-term survival is your ability to adapt to changing demands. No one knows how long this downturn will last. Perhaps you will discover a new type of service or a new method of service delivery that your clients prefer. Be flexible enough to hear their needs and search for a way of filling them that creates a win-win situation. You may find that filling a new need replaces the parts of your business that lagged when the economy turned. Such discoveries can ensure you grow during the downturn and beyond.

STRATEGY SEVEN – Appreciate your Team.

You don’t want your team to lose heart during a downturn and look for employment elsewhere. When staff leaves, your service declines and with it, your value to your clients. Your team is your first line of representation of YOU. Like never before, they are a valuable asset in today’s new business climate.

STRATEGY EIGHT – Embrace Digital Marketing and the New Social Client/Customer Your Social equity is more important than your financial equity.

A whole generation is putting their lives online, why? Simply because sharing of information is a social act, it is the basis of connections. Sharing brings social benefits that outweigh risks. Withholding information from the collective knowledge may even be considered anti-social in today’s marketplace. Businesses are looking for alternatives for cost effective and more cost effective ways to get new business and keep existing clients. In a downward spiraling economy social marketing is the next logical step.  Costly old school marketing and PR models are increasingly ineffective and are becoming obsolete. Seek out professionals to help you formulate your social media strategy.

STRATEGY NINE – Optimism in this Age of Opportunity Stay positive.

As scary as a downturn may be, the good news is that it’s always followed by an upturn. Therefore, it’s important for you, your team, and your clients to be optimistic. Do what you need to do to make it through the not-so- good times and continue to provide outstanding service to your clients. Invariably, your business will be the one people turn to again when prosperous times return.

Download the 9 Strategies map.

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