Posts Tagged: business growth

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10 Areas Of Focus When Your Company Has Downtime

Posted by . In topics: Your Business

Synopsis: Every business experiences them, but how do you react? We discuss the best parts of the business to focus on when your company sees a little downtime.

Sometimes when the business is booming, the thought of downtime seems almost appealing. But then when it finally slows, and it usually will at some point, there’s nothing more scary for a business owner. The natural instinct is to throw up you hands and scream, as the fear that a new customer or new project will never come around again.

But that’s usually not the case. And managing those emotions can better position your company when this downtime occurs. It can also give you a much needed boost in other areas of your organization that haven’t received as much love and care, in the rush to fill customer orders or provide the best service.

Before we discuss where you should focus attention during the downtime, you should also make sure you’re tracking your year. Most businesses have cycles. And if you’re in a down cycle for your company, it could just be the natural tendency of your organization during that particular month. If you know that, then the shock of suddenly slower sales, will not be a vice grip on your sanity. You can also prepare financially, to ease the concern.

10 Parts of the Business to Focus On During Downtime:

 

  1. New Business – You know that idea you’ve been thinking about for awhile, you just hadn’t had the time to really look further into developing that new product? Now’s the time. And you might just find a solution to your yearly downtime in the process. Read more »
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You’ve Started Selling To A New Market. Does That Mean New Advertising?

Posted by . In topics: Advertising

Synopsis: Moving to a new market can be a great way to grow your customer base. But sometimes you will need to change the way you advertise if you want success. Check out why.

When looking to increase your customer base, sometimes you need to get outside your comfort zone – meaning expansion into a new market. This can be perilous, since you understand where you originally launched so well, where as the next market there’s almost no chance you will know it quite as well.

That’s okay, because if you do your homework and pick the spot that’s best for your company, then you should find that the market will work similarly to your first one. However, there’s a few changes to your advertising and marketing strategy that you will need to make. This is due to the fact that tastes vary depending on the market. Some areas, you will be able to get away with the same techniques. But it’s not often. Imagine if you’re moving into a more rural area. They probably won’t want advertising that reflects big cities. Or what if you’re moving into an area that has more Spanish speaking residents. Should you change your advertising for Spanish speakers?

Of course, all this will depend on your specific situation. However, there are a few things you should think about, as you move into a new market, to figure out if you should change your advertising strategy. Read more »

December ’09: Our Exceptional Marketer

Posted by . In topics: Advertising · Marketing · Radio · The Economy

Wendy Harris, Team Harris Realty

2009 was a great year for Wendy Harris, of Team Harris Realty, despite the horrible macro environment for realty businesses.  While many of her peers reacted to the real estate downturn by reducing or eliminating mass-marketing, Wendy moved in the opposite direction with spectacular results.

Wendy recently wrote to share her story: “Thanks to Cumulus radio, I outsold every resale Real Estate agent in Fayetteville and continue to increase my business!”

Wendy took advantage of radio’s unique ability to deeply inform potential clients as part of the mass-reach/high-frequency branding process.  She differentiates her business with a unique listing proposition:  a guarantee to sell the house at a specified price by a specified deadline and backs her guarantee by agreeing to buy the home if she doesn’t hit her goals.  By breaking this concept down into several explanatory radio commercials she quickly communicated this program to anxious sellers.  “The phones started ringing the first week I started.” Read more »