There seems to be more and more evidence that, in virtually every market, there is recovery and growth. How long the growth will last is up for debate. What is certain is, when growing a business, when everyone else is growing too, means you need to tweak your marketing. Two key things occur in a growth market, one, businesses are willing to risk more to gain market share and two the rewards for marketing can be greater, feeding the cycle.
Your marketing should pick up pace and breadth in a growth market, otherwise you will find yourself left behind. A rising tide carries all boats, but some boats get carried higher than others.
So we decided to put together 10 proven marketing ideas to generate new business in a growth market. Generally speaking, now is the time to introduce new products or services, particularly premium products, however we have assumed that this is on your horizon already. The first step should be numbered -1. which would be to market your way through a recession. The best way to grow your business in a growth market, is to have been consistently marketing your way through the recession in the first place.
- Touch base with all your old contacts. If you have lists of people who have unsubscribed from your lists, contact them directly with a proposition. If you don’t have these lists, now is the perfect time to create them. Get in touch with your old contacts just for coffee or better yet, call them and arrange a meeting. Now is the time people will be open to new ideas.
- Launch a new starter pack. Try it for 30 days! Get a trial version for free when you call us now! Give people a risk free option to try your business. In a growth market you will have more people looking for new services or products.
- Discover and explore new markets. The size of potential rewards can be higher than at other times. Use tools like Google Keyword search or browse through Yahoo Directory and look for potential allied industries or groups of companies you could enter.
- Build more content into your website. Use this chance to start that blog and start building more content. When the market is abuzz with new ideas and new products, not is your chance to cement your busienss as an authority in the market. You could just use your blog to post press releases, and then use the press releases in the market to industry news media.
- Reduce customer turnover. A growing market can work against you too. In a growing market your customers are just as likely to leave your business, due to competitive incentives and new market entrants. Now is the best opportunity you have to cement relationships with your current client base. By far the best program we have run to increase customer satisfaction for one of our clients, was sending out a thank-you card. In the card was a discount coupon for their next bill. It was unexpected, genuine and it worked well too.
- Refine your bulk purchase offerings. When the market is growing, don’t be tempted to lower your price as it will just eat away at your margins. Don’t be tempted to offer 2 for 1 offers etc as it cheapens the product. Use the Amazon.com model and offer people added value purchases. For instance you could say, buy one product at normal price and get the second one at 30% off. This increases the total value of the sale without cheapening the offering.
- Investigate/invest in new marketing methods. Now that there is a chance to increase your market share, you should be looking at new and efficient ways to grow your business. Last year the use of mobile browsers increased by 319%, is your website mobile friendly? Could you launch a mobile app that is part of your service? Have you investigated digital print to direct marketing? Earlier this year we created a marketing campaign to over 3000 targetted customers for just $3000 including database, print and post direct to potential customers.
- Ask your customers what they want. How do you know what your customers want from you? Ask them. It takes very little time or money to set up a questionnaire or online survey. Ask your current customers a few, quick, key questions such as when they will be buying again, what they will be buying, if they would prefer a different size, quantity order etc. As the market is growing, now is the time to find out if there is any more room for your products or services in their life.
- Celebrate some successes. You made it through a recession, you should be pleased! Now is the time for you to celebrate and promote some of the successes over the last year. Momentum generates more momentum, so you should be promoting the things you have done right and celebrating the members of the team who have helped you grow. Build more testimonials, create some strong customer profiles.
- Look at new methods of distribution. There are hundreds of ways to sell online now. They all take a small amount of time and money to get going, but most of them require very little upkeep. You could expand your distribution overseas, if you manufacture a specific product. In Australia AusTrade will trip overthemselves to help you expand. You could start looking at major chains to pick up your products. Not all major retailers are open to heart-toheart conversation, but some time spent working on a way in may reap generous rewards.