Doing Business in a Tough Economy

With everyone's ears glued to the the economic news these days, you're probably wondering how you and your small business are going to make it through. Here are some thoughts I shared in a recent class I gave on pricing:

1. Do your homework: know your customers and competition. It's always important to understand what's happening in your market, but it's even more important now. The economy's affecting them too, and you need to revise your strategies to meet these new needs and opportunities.
   
2. Focus resources where you hold the strongest position. Spend more time and energy where you'll get the biggest return. Think about your strengths and who could get the most benefit, and concentrate your marketing dollars on them.
   
3. Rework * Resize * Package. Refine your offering to meet the new needs of the market. Offer bite-size samples of products or services; people are even more price sensitive now. They'll want to be sure before making a purchase. Don't discount, but add value to your offer.
   
4. Go for the add-on sale. Come up with complementary products or services you can sell in addition to what people are already buying.
   
5. Promote aggressively where others are not. People run scared and scale back their marketing efforts during bad times. If you're in a position to do so, do the opposite. And remember, there are many low-cost ways to promote.
   
6. Get creative. We're not just talking layout and colors here. Re-think your business model. Are there opportunities or partnerships that have opened up because of the current state of the economy? Everyone's struggling -- now's your chance to contact that person who seemed out of reach.