by Bernadette Peters

We heard that 2009 was going to be great.  We have new national leadership and a renewed hope.  We left 2008 behind and are looking forward to great things.  We are almost in the 2nd quarter and many of us are still waiting for something to happen.

But waiting for something to happen isn’t going to build our businesses.  We’ve got to DO something.  If you look back at history, some of the greatest fortunes were made in recessions by individuals who either:

1. INVESTED in the low costs of business, real estate or stocks
2. Or who were INNOVATIVE in their approach to business

Innovative business and marketing practices are imperative in this economy to maintain AND grow!  Often times simply the energy and focus spent on the marketing side of your business can cause growth. 

Below are a few simple, low-cost strategies you can employ this quarter to positively affect your business.

1. Take a look at your stats

Review your web, newsletter and promotional program response statistics – have you been flat-lining? Increasing? Decreasing? 

Compare your stats from one year ago vs. now.   Then look at what has changed since then (your product/service offering, your newsletter content or format, where you advertised, the message in your mailer, etc.)  Make adjustments in those programs to reflect the more positive responses you have seen.

Don’t have stats?  Well, now is the time to start.  No ad, mailer or promotional program should be without a tracking mechanism.  A low-risk offer tied to a specific URL or alternate phone number will allow you to make smart decisions about investing in what is effective.  Your hosting company should provide you with web statistics, but if they don’t provide the level of detail you need, try Google Analytics.  All newsletter programs should provide bounce, open and click rates.  Be sure to review them at least 72 hours after you launch your campaign.

2. Search for your business on the web

(You will only need to search on Google and Yahoo since they comprise 80% of all searches).  Search by your name, industry + geography and key pain words your prospects would use to find someone who provides what you provide. 

What is coming up on the first page?  Are there individual websites or directories?  If you find a lot of directories, look into advertising in those directories.  If there are a lot individual websites, do you think you can compete by altering your content, meta-tags, alt-tags and image files names?  If not, look into a pay-per-click advertising program in order to get more exposure.  You may not need to capture cold prospects from the web, but once you have met someone, or received a referral, that prospect may try to find you again through the web.

Natural Marketing Services just launched an affordable web program where we can revamp your site – check it out by clicking HERE. 

3. Evaluate your client and prospect communication

Do you focus more on promotion, news or valuable content?  Your first priority should always be valuable content (education, tips, interesting information or humor).  News and promotion should always be an adjunct.  The minute you start blasting out mailers and emails that are purely promotional in nature, your response will decrease.

Are you wordy or do you provide an easy-to-scan and digest communiqué?  Does your headline and visuals capture your readers’ attention?  Do you use bullet points and emphasize certain words and phrases with font treatment to make your point clear?

If you have a newsletter program, you should be able to evaluate open and click rates to determine the impact of your communication.  If you can beat 32% open rate and 24% click rate, you are doing better then the national average.  If you don’t have your full articles on your website, you obviously won’t reach that click through rate, and might want to consider that strategy.

Dive into these three areas and you are guaranteed to make some changes that can positively affect your business. 

These are all areas we evaluate and create a strategy for in our marketing strategy session as well.  Mention this article when you call to schedule your session to receive $50 off the session.