Marketing Your Service Business During a Recession

Times are tough for our economy, and even if your company hasn’t experienced a decline in business, you certainly know others either suffering or closing altogether. It’s time to take a look at the budget and decide what stays and what goes. Often, the marketing budget is first to get cut. But cutting your overall marketing budget couldn’t be a bigger mistake! Studies have shown time and again this is a wrong move. Recessions offer new opportunities and decreased competition. Instead of cutting (if you must cut something, jettison all outbound marketing, like traditional advertising and trade shows), make it more efficient through inbound marketing.

Why Spend Money Now?
Obviously, marketing when others aren’t gives you an advantage. Your clients still have leaky pipes, need legal assistance or accounting services regardless of the state of the economy (remember, service providers are problem solvers in nearly all cases). Some businesses are even recession-resistant, e.g. accident and injury lawyers, auditing services, food services, etc. Not to mention the incredible deals you’ll get from other businesses! Your marketing dollars will go much further during bad times, so take advantage of it and gain market share.

Document and look at your current marketing plan. It’s important to examine each item in terms of value so you can focus and hone in on low-risk, high-reward campaigns. This is also the time to test new things, such as inbound marketing (and if you’re doing this, time to refine and get even better results).

Consider These Inbound Marketing Activities
First, a definition: inbound marketing is an online strategy which places information about your business in front of people already looking for what it is you sell. It simply means creating content and talking about it. Inbound marketing turns strangers into friends, friends into clients and clients into salespeople. Hard to beat this positioning!

Here are some inbound marketing tasks you can do to gain more market share:

• Get listed on business directories and Internet yellow pages. Each provides implied credibility and can deliver leads fast. There are too many to list, but identify those appropriate for your industry. For example, Lawyers.com is a directory of lawyers and law firms, OutFishing.com is a directory of fishing guides, and the SuperPages is an Internet yellow pages directory.
• Optimize your website (you have one, right??). Since most professional service businesses are not ‘bought’ online, make sure your content and information is designed to generate leads. Continue to add new and relevant content and information to your website on a regular basis.
• Leverage social marketing. Consider launching a blog or using a service like Twitter to stay in front of potential clients. And don’t ignore social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. The profiles and pages are free and deliver very qualified leads. The key with social marketing, and social networking in particular, is to remember that everyone knows why you’re there, so don’t be too obvious or overly promotional with your sales pitches.
• For the creative side in you, grab your video camera or buy an inexpensive Flip HD camera, and record short, informational movies and clips about your business. The quality of the production isn’t nearly as important as the quality of the content. So show off your office, your staff, a how-to video, or even something as simple as a 30-60 second recording explaining why you’re in the business you’re in. Be genuine!

It’s easy to list these items and never take action, so consider working with a specialist or a marketing consultant who “gets” inbound marketing; one who understands the challenges professional services providers face. New clients are already online and looking for someone like you to solve a problem they have. Regardless of where you market, help them find you with inbound marketing.