THEM! | Surviving an economic downturn

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Surviving an economic downturn
By THEM | Published: Friday, December 5, 2008

Your business survival or success should not be based on your advertising. Yep, I said it. And that’s the business I’m in. In fact, it’s advertising that gets a lot of businesses into trouble. There is a quote that goes something like this:

“The best way to put a bad company out of business is good advertising”.

Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying that your business is bad. I’m saying that if you have a really successful advertising effort and then the customers that it brings in don’t have the experience or get the product that your advertising promises then you’re doomed.

The biggest opportunity for success in this difficult economy lies in your relationship with your consumers. Advertising is only one part of your relationship with your consumers. It is an important one though. Just like any successful relationship you have to have good communications. This doesn’t mean that you talk at your consumers. It means that there has to be a two-way dialog between you and your consumers. And you really need to listen to what they have to say.

So, you have worked hard to develop you product/service and have it down to a science. It’s a personal and passionate point for you. How do you pass that passion and zeal to your consumers? How do you have your product or service become personal to your consumers? That is the real key to longevity in this downturn. Make sure the messages you communicate to your consumers match the actual experience of doing business with you. Better yet, go old-school and make sure sure that your consumer’s experience exceeds what they expect.

With this strategy you actually accomplish two very desirable outcomes. One, you build a less volatile and consistent income base, and two, you build that most desirable thing of all, A BRAND. Always keep in mind, your brand is not what you say it is. It’s what your consumers say it is.

For more ideas or personalized strategies for your business call us at 541 306 6723. Success is no accident.

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