1. Market Your Business Online

Of course I would put this one first, but seriously…the Internet
is a huge force and consumers (your potential customers) are relying on it big time.
Consequently, other media like the yellow pages 
and newspapers are dying a slow death. If you're still 
spending money in either of these media, I hope it's only 
because you're already maxing out your Internet marketing 
efforts. 

You see, with Pay Per Click marketing you create targeted 
ads that position you in front of interested, ready-to-buy 
prospects at the EXACT moment they're looking for you. Plus, 
you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. 

Could you imagine the look on your yellow pages or newspaper 
ad reps if you told them you'll only be paying AFTER someone 
responds to your ad? Well, that's exactly what happens when 
with Pay Per Click marketing. 

2. Use Highly Targeted Direct Mail

This is another area I've talked about time and time again.
(Read my past blog posts for more specifics on it.) 
If you're sending out direct mail, but aren't doing anything 
to make sure it's highly targeted, you're wasting both time 
and money. 

Direct mail is still one of the most effective means of 
generating new prospects and clients, but only if done 
correctly. Unfortunately, most companies blast out 5,000 
postcards to names within a certain area, but they don't 
give any thought as to how qualified that 'prospect' truly 
is. 

To be most effective, I recommend trimming your direct mail 
list to somewhere around 1,000-2,500 names, depending on 
your budget, and then send them not just one postcard or 
letter, but send them a series of letters, once a month or 
so over the next 12-18 months. 

Yes it seems like a lot, but the results you'll generate 
will absolutely blow away the traditional 'blast out 5K 
postcards in the Spring and in the Fall'. 

3. Create Joint Venture Relationships

This method is one of the most overlooked marketing methods. 
I mean the name of the game is "get your sales message in 
front of as many qualified prospects as possible", right? 

Well, as you no doubt already know, it's an extremely 
expensive and time consuming proposition. 

But when you partner up with businesses that are already 
servicing your ideal client you bypass both the time and 
expense part because you're borrowing the trust and 
credibility your JV partner has with his client list. 

The best way to approach this is to find a group of 
non-competitive businesses that are already servicing your 
ideal client. Come up with some killer offer you can make 
them and tell your new JV partner that you'll let him give 
this offer to his clients as a 'gift'. 

Your JV partner will send out a letter (or you send it out 
on their stationary written like it's from them) telling his 
customers about the 'free gift', he gets a bunch of 
surprised and satisfied clients, and you get a whole bunch 
of new, qualified clients for your business. 

Listen John, I'm not going to sugar coat things and 
tell you all this economic turmoil is just a bunch of 
baloney made up by the news media. Yes, I do believe they 
tend to exaggerate things quite a bit, but the problems 
we're seeing are very real. 

However, it doesn't mean you can't still create a thriving, 
profitable business amidst the storm. All it takes is a 
little focus, some determination, but most importantly SMART 
execution of solid business principles.