Compare this to the costs of direct mail, display advertising, radio, or TV and the advantages to email and other types of online communication are obvious.
A heating oil company, with a database of 600 prior customers, can blast an offer for a spring special to jump-start sales during their slow season, at practically no cost.
The restaurant owner who's experiencing a slow Wednesday lunch business, can test offers for specials early that morning by sending to their database. Chances are, they'll see an increase in business almost immediately. All at little or out of pocket expense.
If you can't go into your business tomorrow morning at 7:30, create a special offer to jump start sales, and have it out to a list of several hundred or thousand customers by 9:00, you're missing out on a great opportunity. Go here if you want to learn how you can grow your offline business with online strategies.
6. Develop Systems and Follow Through
Hire a business coach/mentor or appoint someone in your organization to be your team's "accountability partner" to ensure your renewed vision is being carried out and that you are steadily moving in the right direction.
While you can assign the task to someone already in the business, there are several advantages to bringing in a professional. A business coach/mentor provides a fresh viewpoint and can often help by not being bogged down in the day-to-day running of the business. They are objective and not invested in the politics if your company. They typically contribute knowledge acquired from a variety of situations in any number of industries. And a professional business coach/mentor will employ specific strategies and systems to help you make quantum leaps beyond what you may have thought possible.
Regardless of the specific actions you take, it is important that you do something proactive. Don't just sit there complaining about the economy with the rest of the crowd. Above all, don't wait for it to turn around by itself or, worse yet, expect the government to fix it. You have within you the power to change your life and your business, so go and do it.
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