Don’t push.
No doubt, we’re in a serious slow down. Many small businesses are suffering. The pressure is huge.
Your best source of business is your customer base. The relationships you’ve built can keep you going through the hard times. True enough. But there is a tendency to bombard your customers with email. After all, how else can you stay in touch?
Using email to maintain contact with people is vital, but remember that your customers are as busy and as stressed as you are. Don’t send email unless you have something important to say. Do you have a new product or service? Tell your customers about it. But do not, no matter how desperate you might feel, bombard your base with “social” emails. Don’t ask about how they’re doing or tell them you “just want to stay in touch”. You want business. If you don’t have a good reason to write, a reason of benefit to your base, don’t bother them.
If you have something that might be of interest, by all means, get the word out. If you don’t, then the best use of your time is to come up with something your customers want now. Turn your computer off and do some serious thinking about your “offer”. What have you got that ‘they’ need? Don’t kid yourself. Look seriously at your offer. Just because you need to sell it, product or service, doesn’t mean ‘they’ need it.
Now, during a slow down, is the most important time to redefine your offer. Take the time to do this and the business will follow.
Chris Reich, Author of TeachU’s Business Talk Blog
Chris@TeachU.com