Gain Market Share Even In Tough Times

In order to gain that market share, you need to ensure that your brand is top of mind with potential clients. Tough times are a good time to increase market share. There are a few things you can do either inexpensively or at a cost savings.

Continue to market yourself
Avoid the temptation to slash your marketing budget. Because that’s exactly what so many other companies do, this will put you far ahead of the competition and at the forefront of customer’s minds when the time comes to start buying again.

Co-op advertising
If you’re a manufacturer, you can partner with your distributors and/or retailers on advertising. If you’re a retailer, you can look into manufacturers that do co-op advertising. Otherwise, find another company that has the same ideal client and share advertising costs.

Joint venture on events or promotions
Got a trade show where you’d really to like exhibit, but are choking on the costs? Think of a partner that could benefit from sharing expenses and share the expense. If you have a great idea for a promotion, but are afraid the budget isn’t there. Figure out how you can make in an irresistible promotion for both yours and another company. Joint ventures create win-wins for everyone involved.

Build relationships
Get out and be seen. Now isn’t the time to crawl back into your shell like a turtle. It’s a time to go to events, meet people in person, and talk to them eye-to-eye. There will never be a replacement for the human touch.

Offer new and/or creative payment terms
All companies are looking to streamline costs. Look at how you can get creative with payment plans or offer new ways to pay.

Keep Innovating
Continuing to do research and development of new products not only gives you the ability to sell more products, but also demonstrates that your company is always looking for ways to make life easier for your customers.

By employing these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to gaining market share— even during a tough economy.

Cast Your Net And Work On Those Relationships by Creating a Networking Strategy

Connections are one of your most valuable assets. The single most important thing you have is your contact database. Having a great rolodex of people to call on- not only as clients, but as resources is a true blessing. Knowing people that can provide the right answers and connections at the right time saves a lot of time and money. With limited time, you need to have a strategy for networking success.

One of the most important things in making contacts through networking is to decide on what networking events to attend. It is simply impossible to attend everything that you receive an invitation for. Base your decision on quality- not quantity. While some events will have hundreds of people, you need to ask yourself, “Are these the people that I need to meet to achieve my personal and/or professional goals.” In some cases, it is well worth your time to go to an event with the goal of meeting one specific person in mind that you feel compelled to know.

Here is an exercise you should do regularly. Look at your schedule for the year and determine the industry events that you need to budget for and attend. On a local level, there are tons of organizations with monthly meetings that have opportunities for networking. Look at those a few months in advance or as they come up. Anytime you think about your goals, assess who you need as a contact to achieve that goal and figure out a way to meet those people. Having a large network can help you get into doors more quickly because people will be more open to meeting someone that has been referred to them vs. someone that is cold calling.

If you have an event that you’re on the fence about, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is this something I want to do or should do? (Women’s intuition goes a long way here).
• Is going to this event taking me closer to a goal or objective?
• Is going to this event in alignment with my personal/professional strategy?

If you can get through all of these questions with a ‘yes,’ find a way to take advantage of the opportunity as long as it won’t require a huge sacrifice on your part that could make you resentful for attending. Sacrifice isn’t always about money. It can also be about missing vacation or time with family. Always consider that.

If you master this process when approaching meetings or events, you will be well on your way to making quality contacts that can either turn into client or help you immensely when you need a referral for a product or service.

Building A Marketing Communications Strategy

If you’re an entrepreneur or small business that believes marketing communications strategy is an ideal just for huge corporations with large marketing staff and that you don’t need one, you’re doing yourself and your company a major disservice.

It’s just like that old adage: if you don’t know where you’re headed, you will end up somewhere else. You wouldn’t embark on a cross-country road trip to a destination without a road map or GPS. Similarly, you shouldn’t be marketing without a strategy- no matter how simple or complex.

Now that we’ve established that you need a strategy. What do you need to do to create one? Take a step back and assess your business objectively. Yes, you need to be able to understand your strengths and weaknesses- be honest with yourself. Start a simple document that answers these questions:

What is the opportunity? (Examples: To position XYZ company as the preferred supplier of Product or Service C; Creating a market for ABC; Creating awareness of ABC brand, etc.)

Where is the primary market located? (Examples: Downtown Cincinnati, online on particular types of websites, etc.)

Who are the main/ideal clients? (Examples: Small businesses, attorneys offices, work-at-home-mothers, etc.)

When is the ideal time they are in the market for my product? (Examples: spring for summer lawn service, morning for coffee, etc.)

How can my company best reach them? Consider different marketing communications tactics. Following is a list for consideration: advertising, public relations, promotional items, conferences, networking, direct mail, collateral (business cards, letterhead, envelopes, brochures, etc.), newsletters, website development, search engine optimization/pay per click (SEO/PPC) campaigns, etc.

Answering these questions will give you the basics of a developed marketing strategy. There’s one additional step that’s critical. You need to ask yourself a couple more questions:

What are the Keys to Success? (Examples: Commitment to plan, training on software, etc.)

What are Things to Avoid in the Strategy? (Example: Selling on Price)

Once complete, put this somewhere where it will be a continual reminder to focus on your marketing strategy and implement it. Don’t file this strategic overview where no one will act upon it. This is a living document that should change and grow as the business does.

Do-It-Yourself Branding Basics

Branding gurus would like people to think there’s a secret formula rocket science behind establishing a brand. But, there isn’t. If you follow some simple basics, you too can ensure that you have a solid branding strategy.

Don’t spend an entire annual budget on corporate identity and advertising standards manuals- especially if you’re a small business that’s just getting started. In general, you don’t need these tools until the organization has grown in scope to the extent that you need this information communicated to multiple entities and marketing people handling your marketing communications materials.

Save your money for materials that will spread the word about your company and offerings- and a professional-looking logo. There are plenty of freelance graphic artists in the market that will create a logo at a very reasonable cost. Many of them can be found online with a simple search.

The most simple rule of thumb in do-it-yourself branding is: Keep everything consistent. Business cards, letterhead, website, envelopes should all have the same fonts, logo usage, coloring. Product or service campaigns may have their own theme, but your overall collateral materials should be consistent in style and feel.

A company logo should be the same whether it’s in a campaign or advertising. For example, if a logo is green and black on your brochure, it should not be purple and fuchsia in other materials. Why is this important? As people see your brand repeated, it sticks in their minds. Consistency is key in building this recognition.

Take an hour and do a simple branding/corporate identity exercise:

Grab all the different marketing materials you have. Here is a list that might help: logo, business cards, website, letterhead, envelopes, brochures, folders, flyers, note cards, note pads, booklets, sales sheets, binders, sticky notes, mail labels, return address labels, and books.

Once you have them together in once place, look at them and ask yourself:

Are they all consistent in look and feel?
Do the font, color, and style match? If yes, fabulous! If not, how are they different? Decide what brings the most consistency and put together a plan to get them updated. Many times you’ll only have one or two pieces that really need changed.

Doing this simple branding exercise will help you keep your brand consistent while keeping costs down.