BINDER #007 - Marketing - Slow Year? Double Down on Marketing.

Many people in my network this year have all declared this a "weird year."

I suppose that happens in uncertain times, and an election year and the threat of a recession definitely create uncertainty.

Funny enough, when Covid broke out... I thought about shutting down my company. I applied for a full-time job at a glass company.

I decided to cancel the interview the day before and instead bought a $100 course from Jeffrey Gitomer, AKA "The King of Sales."

His course focused on relationship building during uncertain times, providing value first, and doubling down on your marketing efforts.

The result? 

My company grew 147% from the previous year - despite moving the business to an entirely new market that I started from scratch in.

Investing in more marketing is extremely difficult when your company is not on track to hit its goals or, worse yet, cannot find enough work.

However, much like I wrote about last week with sales - when a lot of companies decide to "zig", you should "zag" -

When your competitors shrink back in their marketing spend, you should stay heavily into it.

Our company, Laser Pavement Solutions, is the same this year. However, we have noticed a drop in inbound leads during July and August this year. This has put us in the first time ever (literally) where production has outpaced sales. (Probably, an increase of 60% in production staff also had something to do with that.)

Here are 3 things we're doing to combat the uncertain year and a drop in sales: 

#1 - Unique Offers.

We invested a lot into sealcoating this year, beginning our conquest of offering a service that is very uncommon in this market. To help us reach more potential residential customers, we partnered with a great business contact of mine, Craig, who has a very successful home service company.

We will subsidize free window washing to any customer who buys a driveway seal coat from Laser.

It will cost us money every sale, to be sure. Still, it will give us a huge edge in attracting new customers - because that offer is being sent out to every single customer in Craig's CRM -  many of whom buy multiple window washes a year.

Creating a "Grand Slam Offer" is a great way to ensure your company's stability in unstable times.

#2 - Repurposing Employees.

While our sales team (3 of us total) are locked in driving more business, we have no issue repurposing employees to help drive business.

Since 2021, we have often used production employees to do commercial door-knocking, whether dropping business cards, offering winter-time de-icing services, or inspecting properties for us.

This week, 3 of our production staff will join our estimator in doing pre-season snow inspections for potential portfolio opportunities.

This tactic cannot only help drive more business, but it also exposes them to how the business works in other departments, strengthening your team.

#3 - Get on Social Media LOTS.

A big reason your competitors are shying away from marketing right now?

It costs money.

You know what doesn't cost money?

Thanks, Gary.

Even in a recession, your ideal clients still hop on Instagram, Tik Tok, and Facebook daily. Get in front of those people!

Double Down in the tough times and your company has a better chance of thriving!