Press for effective and creative uses of all marketing channels with an emphasis of “online” activities. (This effort toward on-line sales and the resulting changes may become big parts of any corporate repositioning you might undertake as you develop your longer-term marketing plans.)  Emphasize service and quality.  In your advertising and in your marketing across the board, remember that the key to survival for many small and mid-sized businesses is service.

 

By emphasizing quality and service, your business will not only survive in a recession, but will boom in the good times as well.  Hire if you need to.  If you need a crackerjack salesperson or another key employee, do not be reluctant to hire one now. There are always plenty of good people out there who are unemployed or underemployed in a depressed market. Also, do not forget about that whole group of talented (but inexperienced) college graduates searching for jobs in an inhospitable marketplace. By hiring that much-needed salesperson or key technical person, you will give your business just the jump-start it needs to stay on the road to survival and success!  Aim to fill a carefully defined niche.

 

Every advisor tells you to do this. Now is the time to find your niche! The bigger businesses get, the more voids they leave. When large businesses cut back, they produce even more and bigger holes in the business-world fabric.