Good day fellow Vending enthusiast,I was gonna do another E-Thought on how to make extra cash for Christmas but when I started thinking about how broke I was, I started getting depressed and instead came up with some Marketing ideas for the business when times are tuff! So here's what I came up with;
1. Follow-up on Old Leads
Bring out every old business card, brochure or any other lead that you may have and start calling your contacts.
You will need perseverance, you might not strike gold in the first or even your second try. But keep on following the leads, since you don’t have anything to lose - and tons to gain if you pull it off.
Take out any old inquiries that did not convert into orders and follow up on every single one of them.
2. Take Extra GREAT Care Of Your Existing Customers
Your existing customers are what keep your business running during slow times. You will need to take good care of them, since you know your competitors will no doubt have their eyes on them as well (no doubt). Remember, they are also facing tough economic weather as well.
Keep in regular touch with all of your people, even those that have only purchased from your company once. Let them know how much you appreciate their support over such a trying period try not mentioning the word 'recession'.
You can also reward them by offering special discounts or gifts as a token of your appreciation. Let them know that you appreciate their business and their loyalty.
3. Take the Road Less Traveled To Find New Customers, don't be afraid to step "outside" of the box.
If you have rigid views on taking in odd or small customers, then you should become more flexible. If you have not previously entertained selling to customers with different needs, such as smaller orders or staggered deliveries, now is the time to look at those situations with a "new" set of eyes.
Keep an open mind and bend your rules a little to accommodate them, since they could not only pull your company out of the recession, but over time could bring in many more new clients than you would have thought possible.
The best part is that if you help grow their business with your value added services, then their order values could quickly come into your regular scope of business.
There is no financial harm in servicing smaller customers or those with special needs, as long as you do it in such a way that helps to off set your bottom line. You can maybe start out by taking a few trial orders before deciding if this route is beneficial to your company or not.
4. Increase Your Level of Service
In times when competitors are trying to undercut each other on price, let the level of service that you provide be a notch higher than the others. Satisfied people are sure to bring in new people for you to satisfy.
Your customers need to be absolutely convinced that they are getting much more than they could have ever expected. You might have to bend over sideways and backwards to achieve this level of customer satisfaction, but as long as you don't sprain your back, it will be sure to pay off!
Your employees should also be made to realize that the customer is truly THE MAN (or WOMAN) in these trying times - and it will ensure their job security if they perform well in their duties.
5. Give Your Customers Something More
If possible, provide additional services to your customers.This will not drain your pocket to a large extent, but will go a long way in pleasing potential and existing customers.
It is during tough times that we all need to alter our marketing strategy to survive to sell another day. The above marketing strategies are not very costly to implement, but will help to increase our bottom lines - both during and after the recession.
These are just a few things that I came up with as a poor man. I'm sure that you can think of many more and if you do, I would love to hear them!
Happy Holidays
Curt Wokal
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