If your company is like a lot of others today, the recession may be felt in all sorts of ways both big and small. It is at times like these you should remember your competition is probably feeling the same pinch. Marketing is usually the first thing they backed off on, even knowing they shouldn't. This is where you can get ahead of your competition, not just for today, but for tomorrow too.
Concentrate on outperforming your competitor while they limp along waiting until business picks up again.
1. Set goals. Long term goals are great, but a lot of businesses face too much distraction trying to handle too many projects with too little focus. Breaking down goals into small steps keeps things moving along with fresh ideas popping up along the way. Good marketing is always about the new and fresh.
2. Know your customer's needs and wants. If you have not done a customer survey within the past year, it is past time for one. Or go on customer visits. Call on your customers to see how they are doing, or whether they have any problems you can help them with. How better to give a customer what they need or want than by asking? Talk about a win/win situation! Remember that companies flourish when supplying what the public demands.
Find out the why's when a customer leaves. Do not be doomed to making the same mistakes over and over. Set up a process to ask customers why they are no longer choosing to do business with you. Ask them in a pleasing and professional manner what it is your company could have done better in order to have kept their business. Learn from these situations and make adjustments as needed.
3. Know your competition. Keep up with industry news not only nationally and internationally but locally too. Know your competitors, what they are offering, their marketplace reputation and their weaknesses and strengths. Do not make the mistake of comparing your productivity this year to your productivity in past years. Instead start comparing yourself to your competition. Knowing how your business compares can tell you where improvements are needed.
4. Anaylize! All your efforts will not mean a thing, if you do not track your results and analyze what you find. It will be easy to do that at the beginning when it is all new and exciting, but do not get it into your head to stop down the road. Using analytics tools on a consistent basis needs to remain a priority to determine whether you are still on the right path or not.
Are you now ready to outperform your competition? Don't wait for the marketplace tide to rise again. Instead, set yourself on the road to growth now so you can follow the path of prosperity ahead of your competitors.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment