Improve Your Small Business in Bad Times: Reach Out Touch Someone
How to Improve Your Small Business in Bad Times
Recessions are weird for small businesses. You see an explosion in the number of small businesses being formed. You also see a record of number of businesses going down like flotillas of sinking ships. If you’re a small business owner, the whole business landscape can make you schizophrenic, if not downright crazy.
So what do you do to help your small business in these crazy times? Well, one friend of mine, a small business owner, is going to see her doctor about getting the new “screw it all” pill that is supposed to keep you happy no matter what’s going on in your business.
That’s not going to work for me. I’m a health freak so allopathic drugs are not my gig. What is working for me and my business partners is the simple act of reaching out and touching people. Whether we’re picking up the phone and calling customers, or zipping an email to a business acquaintance, we’re seeing business pick up — a lot.
Why Reaching Out Helps Small Businesses
At this particular time, when people are frozen with fear and totally lost, reaching out to them is having a dynamic effect. People are so glad to hear from us, for a variety of reasons.
1. Economic Stimulus Incentives
Our suppliers are offering all kinds of stimulus incentives, which we can pass on to our customers. This gives us the perfect reason to call or email our customers. For instance, one of our suppliers offers a nutritional supplement that is an excellent preventative against swine flu. With swine flu splashed all over the news, this supplier is offering this immune-boosting supplement at half price for a limited time. Many of our customers still have to travel, despite the epidemic, and are thrilled to hear from us and take advantage of the discount. And this is only one example of the kinds of incentives we are passing on to our customers.
2. Bartering is Cheap and Good
Money may be tight but there’s still plenty of talent floating around out there. We are reaching out further and deeper than ever into our business network, seeking out bartering efforts that will be mutually useful. We recently traded services with a lawyer friend. We needed some help advising one of our clients on the issue of incorporation (should he go with an LLC or an S Corporation?). We asked the lawyer, who provided us with a succinct and decisive answer. Problem solved. In return, we sent the lawyer an ebook that we had written and he wanted. It was hugely useful barter, and not a cent changed hands.
3. Referrals Still Drive Business
I recently wrote about some studies that indicate that word-of-mouth still reigns supreme as a marketing method. Referrals are still an awesome way to expand business. A few weeks ago I made three referrals that earned me nothing but good karma. That good karma has since paid off. Yesterday, out of nowhere, a business acquaintance from a long time ago sent us a fabulous new client for one of our online businesses. Amazing.
Recession often has the effect of causing a small business owner to shrink back, like a turtle hiding in its shell. Don’t fall prey to that temptation. Instead, reach out and touch someone in your business network. Even if you do nothing more than make a single contact per week, you’ll be surprised at the chain reaction that sometimes happen. We are seeing it happen in the most surprising ways.
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Photo credit: Reach Out and Touch Someone
Great post ! I agree that Referrals still rule and having a positive outlook on life in general in these trying times.