5. Try Something New, With Available Resources
If volume of work has decreased, you may find other previously scant resources have increased. One newly available resource may be time & labour. Labour-intensive marketing opportunities that were not previously feasible could be more attractive at this moment in time, bringing revenue (and profit) without adding cost. Examples include but are not limited to:
a. Leverage existing customer relations. Renew phone, post and email contact with existing/previous clients, who may be sitting on opportunities to use your services again. It can bring the future forward, it can shape the future, and it can prevent them from going elsewhere if other forces are at play. It can even bring them back if they'd been lost to a competitor.
b. Cold call. Phone, post, and email a hand-crafted list of potential clients. Create a short-list for cold calling in person. Spread your aim; don't shoot for the moon but aim high with one attempt, be realistic with another, and just try for some real bread-and-butter with a third... that is, the most likely size/type of employer (or client) that would use your services even if it weren't the most profitable.
We've discussed this potential before and still have a mental image of it... you going and milling with your potential clients, from the queues at offices in town, to the groups seated in parks, asking them for themselves, let alone for referrals of someone they know whom you can phone right there and then, after informally vetting their potential from the referee. This is not quite guerrilla marketing but it's getting almost as good!
A $20 stand at a local market (even choosing an area where you see potential demand/low competition/chatty people) could give you more promotional opportunities than twenty times that on other marketing, because you are adding your time and labour. If you're talking to someone, and willing to help them or their friends, you're advertising better than ever. Community business events could provide similar opportunities. Call the council and ask what's on.
And if you are allowed to bring a barbie, do it. It's amazing how many people will stop for a free sausage sizzle even though it's no-name white bread & tomato sauce on a cheap wheat-filled sausage cooked in canola oil. That $20 could get you 40 opportunities to hand someone a banger sanger and say "There you go mate. Who do you know that needs... [service name]? Take a card anyway... we'll look after them."
c. Following up stale leads. Review communication records for leads that may have seemed fruitless but which have a chance, even a longshot, now that labour is available.
d. Discounting. Best used in conjunction with c., once you determine they haven't gone elsewhere, but also a & b., and also potentially useful when Competition (part c.) or Price Point is at play. Without having to drop your price, 'run a special'.
e. Network. Reach out to your network, without sounding desperate, i.e. "we're in off-peak season at the moment...". Add incentive. If networking with existing clients, offer a commission, or to save cash, offer a 'value-add' which may actually serve as incentive for your existing client: a rebate on future services, especially if that's a rebate which only applies on services they wouldn't otherwise have considered. If networking with non-clients, use d. as incentive for them to pass the offer on because they want to be the one who 'gives' something nice to their referee. Give them something tangible that proves it and is easy to pass on; a link to a dedicated page, and a physical piece of paper about it.
There are online and offline networking groups which can also be good. If they're cost-prohibitive, ask for a free trial because it's your first time and you're not sure if they're well-frequented or if your target market is connected. But you could even reach out to individuals/companies yourself, without a networking group, because:
You're looking for opportunities to 'partner' with someone for cross-promotion. Offering to scratch someone else's back is an offer they find hard to turn down, since they likely pay for marketing anyway, as long as they're convinced you won't let them down if they refer you. So who else comes in contact with your target market, and doesn't know who to refer them to? Once they meet you, they are an excellent lead source, with or without incentive - (see e.) This is not just theory; we've networked with designers because they come in contact with people who need a website or even just hosting. We prepared to target some designers but have never had the time because we've always had too much demand. It'll be one of the first place we go when we have a quiet period.
Find somewhere to give free training. Don't worry, you don't have to give away your secret sauce, leave that for paying customers; but be genuinely and generously helpful. It will come back to you. From volunteering computer literacy at a community centre, all the way to offering to speak at a conference where delegates pay to attend the event (think TED talks but smaller), you will establish yourself as an authority, win trust, get brand exposure (be subtle, of course - like only referring to your brand briefly as a way to demonstrate your credentials. "I know because in my day job at [brand, or even just something searchable, like 'location, long-tail-keyword' you rank really well for] I've spent x years helping people do this and I encounter it all the time. So let me share with you how I help my clients...")
f. Be newsworthy. While this is always an ultimate great SEO goal, your necessity could mother some awesome invention right now. If you create your own event, resource or physical object for the community good, the time and energy you put in could garner more than you could pay for in free local news mentions, and materials could potentially be provided by other local sponsors if they get a mention.
And if there are existing ways to get news, you could show more interest in them now. Are there business or skill awards you qualify to enter? If not in your area, somewhere else that you qualify as an entrant? Even in another country, online, to receive online mentions?
Got some more traction? Great! Contact Pioneer Websites now for the best suggestions on how to carefully invest some of your return into accountable marketing that can help your business grow to the next level.
This Is It!
Now's the time to try something new. Go for it.
Want to start again? Return to the marketing audit introduction: