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Help! Innovative Ideas

Help! I have been reading articles that advise using innovative ideas in order to counteract a bad economy. Do you agree? Am I just throwing good money after bad?
I have read many of the same articles and I have spoken with other experts concerning various directions to explore for addressing an economic downturn. The overwhelming consensus is that innovation is important for keeping your company name front and forward. I regularly suggest that business owners become visionary in their thinking and creative in their planning and I have not changed my position during this difficult time. Now is not the time to hide. Although customers may delay their shopping until the last minute, they will eventually come out as their needs for gift items approaches. Birthdays will still be celebrated, weddings will still go forward, and Mother's Day and Father's Day are still on the calendar as well as many other shopping opportunities.

If you have stopped your advertising and marketing campaigns, it is possible that your customers may forget you when they are ready to spend. Customers will be looking for and expecting promotions. I suggest that you develop a twelve month promotional plan. Once you have identified the holidays and events that you want to support, develop a budget you can afford. Then, aggressively work your plan.

Coupons are back in style. Services such as gift wrap, layaway, gift-with-purchase, two-for-the-price-of one deals, and general discounts are on the rise. Businesses who tossed these programs aside are resurrecting them in the hope that customers will respond positively. Customers are savvy. They know that businesses will be jumping through hoops to get their dollars and they will shop carefully.

Do not mistake my comments to mean that you should spend recklessly. You always need to take a careful look at your expenses and watch your bottom line. However, the old adage, "You have to spend money to make money," is true whether the economy is rolling along or "on the ropes" as it is today. Roll up your sleeves, get out your scalpel, and get aggressive to make sales happen. However, it will not be enough to just prepare your in-store promotions. You have to tell your customers what you are doing. One of the strongest programs that can keep you afloat is your marketing program. You may need to trim your marketing budget but do not let anyone talk you into eliminating it. If you do eliminate the budget, you may kill your business. There is no doubt in my mind that business is going to be difficult. We haven't seen a business climate like this in many decades. It will take vision, creativity, and lots of perseverance to weather this storm.

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