just in North America, but worldwide - has been interesting to say the
least.
And of course with this comes the ever present question of concerned
business owners - whether online or off - of what to do when the economy
does slow down. Do I cut my advertising? Do I scale back my marketing
efforts? In short, how do I weather the storm?
Well, I just so happen to have an acquaintance who runs a 50 million
dollar a year enterprise and when I asked his opinion, here is what he had
to say.
"The simplest thing I was ever taught - whether good times or bad - was to
spend as much smart money as you can and at the same time eliminate as much
foolish spending as possible. Of course this makes sense in any economic
situation; however it is much more prudent in slowing times to make sure
that careless spending does not completely erase our bottom line.
Yes it's true that margins may shrink in some of our efforts, but the
important thing is that there are margins that remain. Whatever you do -
DON'T stop what's working. Don't stop advertising. Don't stop marketing.
Don't stop getting your name out there. Matter of fact, in a slowing
economy, you should be doing more. Keep building up your brand or business
in good times and bad. Get your name out there on a consistent basis
because the tough times won't last forever and when things turn around, you
want to be poised and ready for growth, not in the position of having to
build up your business from scratch again.
As a business owner it is your responsibility to you, your family, your
employees and your customers to remain in business. Do not get caught up
in a self fulfilling prophecy whereby business drops off, so you advertise
and market less and end up in a downward spiraling loop until suddenly you
are out of business. Don't get caught up in the media frenzy of doom and
gloom that thrives on sensationalism."
And this last point he led me to a popular story you can find posted all
over the internet. It sure rings true as to what's happening today.
========================================
HOW TO KILL YOUR BUSINESS OVERNIGHT
========================================
During the 1930's there was a man who lived by the side of the road and
sold hot dogs. He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio. He had trouble
with his eyes, so he read no newspapers. But he sold good hot dogs. He
stood at the side of the road and cried: "Buy a hot dog, mister?" And
people bought. He increased his meat and bun orders. He bought a bigger
stove to take care of his trade.
Business was so good he brought his son home from college early to help
him out. And his son said: "Father, haven't you been listening to the
radio? Haven't you been reading the newspapers? The European situation is
terrible. The domestic situation is worse."
The father thought to himself, "Well, my son's been to college, he reads
the papers and he listens to the radio -- so he ought to know." So the
father cut down his meat and bun orders, took down his signs, and no longer
bothered to stand out on the highway to sell his hot dogs. And his hot dog
sales fell almost overnight. The father said to the boy, "You're right,
son, we certainly are in the middle of a great depression."
Doesn't that sound exactly like what is happening now?
So what should you do? Keep doing what works. Advertising works. PPC
works. JVs work. And of course article marketing works.
Consistency is key. Keep your articles going out. Keep your name and
company in the spotlight. People are still spending. Give them the
reasons why they should spend it with you. And to help your efforts become
more effective with very little effort, we have been feverishly working on
the BIGGEST upgrade in the Wizard's history. And although we can't tell
you what it is quite yet, it will bring the Wizard - and of course, your
articles - firmly into the world of WEB 2.0.
Keep your eyes on your inbox for more information in the next few weeks.
Remember what Henry Ford said "whether you think you can or you think you
can't, you're right."
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