FEATURE ARTICLE

Recession Proof Your Business

Times are expensive in this day in age. Everything from gas to milk has increased dramatically in months. The unemployment rate has skyrocketed, and many small businesses are closing. Large companies are packing up to move operations out of the country. So how can your business attempt to avoid this situation? What can you do to help prevent your business from just becoming another statistic?  Here are a few tips to assist you in this transition:

Inventory Management
Plan to reduce inventory costs while trying not to hurt your business.  Keep tabs on your inventory; ask yourself: are you ordering too many items/products?  Is it cheaper to eliminate shipping and warehousing cost?  Dig into your inventory reports, see what is working and what is not, and from there, eliminate what your business can do without.

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HELPFUL BUSINESS TIPS

Justify A Sale

What justifies a sale?
 Have you ever wondered why your customer wants to purchase your products and services? What is it that makes your product so important to your customer?  Let’s review various aspects of why customers seek out certain products.

Quality of Life
How can your service provide the client a better quality of life?  For example, does it reduce their workload?  Does it help reduce electrical costs for their home?  Can it help reduce any types of stress? Is it a bargain?  Ask yourself some questions.  Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and see why your business is important to them.

Pleasure & Relaxation
Does your product or service provide any type of ease for your client?  Does it make them more peaceful and stress free?  Generally this relates to travel, home entertainment, and other services focused on bringing relaxation to the consumers. Up-to-date specials are always a bargain for consumers who are looking for relaxation.

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FUN BUSINESS FACTS:

  • 18% of an American's income is spent on transportation.
  • The United States and Canada are the world's largest producers of paper and paper products.


Go Green in your office:


Everyday, U.S. business use enough paper to circle the Earth over 20 times.  If it is absolutely necessary to print, look for recycled printer paper and eco-friendly ink and print on both sides.  If you are packaging, use the shredded paper as packing material and use recycled
boxes.


QUICK TIPS FOR MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS

The following are two quick tips to help give you a better, clearer idea of how to market your business and the product or service you are selling.

Tip # 1: Define Your Target Market

When strategizing a marketing plan, first step is to define who your business is going after.  For example, if you sell the next big popular toy, most likely you will target children by running ads on cartoon channels and on the web.  In return, the children will hassle their parents until they get what they want.  Research the demographic area to better define:

  • What is the age group (young, mature, middle-age)?
  • What is the dominant sex in the defined area?
  • What is the average income level within a certain mile radius?

If you are going after a certain type of business define:

  • What does the company you are targeting do in terms of sales, reputation, etc.?
  • What is the annual revenue for that particular company?
  • Is it a start up?  Is it well established?  Who are the key contacts?

Tip # 2: Do Market Research and Track Your Marketing

After defining your target market, the next step would be researching that target. So for starters, look into the following:

  • How do they buy or shop?
  • Do they buy at the store or online?
  • What are certain benefits they are looking for and why?
  • When is the most popular time of the day or week that they shop or purchase online?

When you finally launch your campaign, keep track of where you invested money to advertise.  See if the ad on the web actually brought in more business than running an ad in the newspaper.  Identify these problems to help solve problems early. With these results, it will also give you more ideas on where you want to invest and further expand your marketing experience.  In time, the milestones you have set for your business will eventually become a reality.