The economy is nothing short of lousy. Business is really tough. Customers are canceling events. A local party and event rental company asked its team what they could do to create an adequate amount of revenue to survive the recession.
The group had the benefit of being together for a number of years. They had written up a marketing and sales plan every year for the last three years. They also recognized planning is the launching pad for success. Without a plan, they would not have any chance to survive. Together, they came up with a strategy to attack new markets and meet new people. The CEO increased his involvement with the sales team and with customers. The results were immediate. After making a three-hour trip to a military base, the CEO closed a big deal because the sergeant in charge of the event was so impressed the owner came to see him.
As your organization braces itself for tough times, how can it can it boost revenue without breaking the budget? Here are some steps to building your own no-money-down marketing plan.
1. Write a revised marketing plan and execute it.
Assuming you have a plan in the first place, go back and review every element to see how it fits into the current environment.
If you don't have a plan in place, move fast to create one.
2. Uncover your opportunities.
Do you have certain products that stand out? Do you have particular financial strength so you can help your customers through hard times? Do you have other services can you offer? What other competitive strengths do you have?
The starting point for all business planning is opportunities. What opportunities still exist in the market for your company? Check out your key competitors who are weak and whose customers may be feeling uncertainty or doubt. The word gets out during bad times. You don't want to badmouth anyone, but you can certainly point to the solidity of your company, your long history, your repeat customers, etc. Sowing the seeds of doubt about the competition's ability to deliver, to service, to respond is part of the competitive world.
3. Develop new terms and conditions for doing business.
Now is the time to look at ways to exploit your opportunities with new thinking. For example, your customer may not have the money for inventory, but you know they can sell much more if they have goods in their stores.
What can you do? One answer that may work to your advantage is consignment. By putting goods in your customer's stores without asking for payment, you make it possible for them to sell more of your product. You may be able to force the customer to drop competitive merchandise in return for this major support. Work out terms and conditions to protect your investment and make it profitable for you.
