During economic uncertainty, customers’ disposable income decreases, and small businesses must work harder to convey their value and justify their customers’ investment. The process can become an overwhelming cycle of anxiety for places just trying to stay afloat.
To thrive in this environment, it’s crucial to highlight your value proposition. Here are some strategies to help you succeed:
Emphasize the benefits of working with your business.
Highlight your customers’ reviews and showcase your years of experience delivering positive results. List the benefits of working with your organization. Potential customers may be shopping around to find the best mix of value and pricing. If applicable, promote your payment plans or financing options to appeal to budget-conscious customers. Create a budget-friendly value proposition.
Diversify your income streams and expand your services.
Identify in-demand services related to your business and integrate them into your company’s offerings. For example, medical aesthetics professionals can invest in functional medicine lab training to enhance their customers’ results and gain a competitive edge over other med spas. By adding functional medicine labs to its service offerings, a medical aesthetics practice offers a new wellness component, transforming itself into a med spa and wellness center under one roof. The global wellness market is worth $1.8 trillion, and med spa customers need and can benefit from functional medicine labs, the labs’ insights, and recommended lifestyle enhancements.
Ask yourself, “What product or service is related to your business, solves a problem that your customers are facing, and can generate additional revenue for your company?”
Create offers that entice customers to take action.
One of my clients in the medical aesthetics industry received 13 bookings in 72 hours from a limited-time flash sale. The med spa centered the promotion around Dysport Day. (Dysport is an injectable treatment using Botox).
The flash sale encouraged people to call the business on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday to book their Dysport appointment before the end of the year and save 10% off their treatment. The customers had to mention the offer to claim the savings. A $100 deposit was required to make the appointment.
Two days into the flash sale, the owner of the medical aesthetics practice mentioned, “Our revenue numbers are definitely up. We had two really, really strong days.”
Everyone loves a deal.
“According to the University of Pennsylvania, research indicates that companies that maintain consistent advertising efforts perform better over time, even during recessions.”
—Michael Guberti
Continue marketing your business to new and existing customers.
Your customers already know, like, and trust you. They are like low-hanging fruit. Be sure to communicate with them every week via email. Consistently post messages on social media to stay top-of-mind. Send them short text messages linking to webpages about your services and respond to their messages.
The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, a research organization, tracked companies and their marketing decisions for more than 20 years. They discovered that when organizations stop advertising, their sales typically decline by 16% after one year, 25% after two years, and 36% after three years. The impact is even more severe for small businesses, as the study notes that “small brands typically suffer greater declines than bigger brands.”
During a recession, when most businesses cut back on their marketing efforts, what happens if a company decides to forge ahead and actively promote its brand? According to the University of Pennsylvania, research indicates that companies that maintain consistent advertising efforts perform better over time, even during recessions. A study examining 600 companies from 1980 to 1985 found that businesses that maintained or increased their advertising during the recession saw significantly higher sales once the economy rebounded. Companies that advertised aggressively during the recession experienced sales 256% higher than those that stopped advertising.
Leverage online advertising platforms, which work like an auction.
Consider what happens when businesses stop advertising on auction-based platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google. When your company and other firms run ads on these platforms, you participate in an auction. If other businesses pull out of the auction and stop advertising, but you continue, your likelihood of reaching your target audience increases, and the competition decreases. Stay in the game.
Bringing it all together:
While economic uncertainty presents challenges, it also offers opportunities for businesses to demonstrate resilience and adaptability. Businesses can navigate these uncertain times by enhancing customer relationships, leveraging digital marketing, adding new, innovative services, and offering financing options. Ultimately, the key to thriving in an unpredictable economy is to remain proactive, flexible and committed to delivering value to your customers.
“Identify in-demand services related to your business and integrate them into your company’s offerings.”
Michael Guberti
Digital Marketing Strategist
Michael Guberti is a digital marketing strategist who works with small businesses like plastic surgeons, med spas, architects, and more. Michael is the winner of The Best Marketing Campaign of the Year Award, the Rule Breaker Award for teaching entrepreneurship at an accredited business university before ever enrolling in a college, and the Sweetwater Clifton City Spirit Award from the New York Knicks. Learn more at MichaelGuberti.com.
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