I have found that it is difficult to go more than a few hours without hearing about the tough economic times our country is facing.If you are like me, even though you may be feeling the effects, you are sick of talking about it. Nonetheless, it is a constant reminder that business does not come easily and keeping your business above water can be a full-time job. Economic difficulties or not, we all must go back to basics and look for the most cost effective ways to grow your income and your business. Here are some cost-friendly ways to grow your business:
- Properly Utilize Referrals. Hopefully you have already seen the value that referrals can bring to your business. If not, it is probably because you are not asking for them. One tip is to create a weekly reminder on your calendar, Outlook or phone, to ask for a few referrals each week. This may mean every Friday you send 2-5 e-mails to people you know, reminding them of what you do and asking if they have any potential business they can send your way.
- Online Social Networking. Some businesses are intimidated by MySpace and Facebook, but they truly can act as the best online way to create visibility for your business. Social marketing is a great tool to connect you with your customers in their comfort zone. You can brave these sites yourself or you can contract out the work for relatively low prices.
- Public Relations and Perception. Bill Gates was quoted as saying “If I was down to my last dollar, I would spend it on public relations.” This ringing endorsement from Gates truly suggests the importance of the public’s perception of your company. A public relations campaign tends to be much more cost-effective than advertising and can truly bolster your growth by building your credibility within the communities the media reach.
- Networking Groups. Most communities offer various networking opportunities on a regular basis. There are private groups, Chamber of Commerce events, business district events and even gender- and ethnically- oriented groups. Some events meet weekly for breakfast, while others meet monthly for happy hour. There are plenty of opportunities to go out and meet other individuals that are also interested in growing their network and their business.
- Free Business Listings. Just as everything else in current times has moved to the online sector, so have business listings. Most people still think is important to be listed in the Yellow Pages and may be missing out on all the free online listing resources. Two of the major online listing websites are Yelp.com and Kudzu.com. These websites also allow user reviews, which can create interest and discussions about your services. Each city typically has an additional 5 to 10 websites that allow you to list for free and act as online yellow pages.
There is no doubt that times are tough, but you should not be waiting until they get tougher to look for new strategies to grow business. Implementing these five tips on daily, weekly and monthly bases will help you discover new streams of revenue that have always existed, you just may not have been taking advantage of them.
|
