That brings me to the next possibility for getting new business without spending a lot of marketing dollars. How much business could be developed from the companies we do business with? Take a look at all the vendors your company uses for things like insurance, accounting, banking, legal, paper goods, etc., and ask them for the business you can provide for them. This could be an untapped market, not only for the sales you might make to them, but also for the referrals they might give to your company.
I was reading a Blog recently that described some very well known companies that started, survived and thrived during economic downturns, including Wrigley Gum, United Parcel Service, Symantec, and Hewlett Packard to name a few. Anyone studying the “Great Depression” can see that companies that survived, and thrived, got creative, took action, and persevered. They looked for opportunities for new business. They were willing to seek out new markets and new ways to do business.
Yes, times are tough right now. Some days, I hear from industry friends who are discouraged with this year’s projected bottom line, and who are wondering how long it will be, if ever, before things get back to “normal”? Things are “different” all over…in every industry. I just heard from a friend in a totally different line of work about how, recently, they’ve had to go collect receipts from their customer’s right before payday so they can make payroll. This is their kind of creative financing.
Staying afloat during hard times is a challenge, and right now, we’re all using creative skills to find ways to connect with prospects, and to romance and retain our existing clients. This might be a good way to reinvent our companies for a good future. I think that we just need to “hang in there”. Better times are coming! And, yes, one way or another, we’ll get through it all!
