There are many marketing strategies that you can use, many at little or no cost, which can help keep your business in the game. Even in today’s tough economy. Here are my top 5:

1. Stay connected – Many companies make the critical mistake of cutting marketing during a recession, instead you should ramp it up! You want to stay connected – meet new friends, keep in touch with the old ones, making sure your name is in circulation. Join social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Linked-In. These will allow you to post free press releases, tell people what you have been doing and what you plan to do. You should also join networking groups such as WPO (Women's President Organization) or WBENC (Women's Business Enterprise National Council) to talk with other business owners about possible opportunities or partnerships. Remember: relationships you maintain and nurture can one day mean business!
2. Create an online presence - Become techno-savvy, but join the right social networks and blogs for your company, not just because it is popular. Websites today are people’s first point of contact with your business; they learn the who, what, where, and why before they even talk to you. When websites first started coming out, companies threw up a website and then never updated it again – a static site. Make sure you have a dynamic site that pulls your visitors in and makes them DO something (call your company; click further, email, etc.) Blogging makes conversation happen, provides interaction and lets you plant the seed – letting them know what you’re doing!
3. Maintain Creativity and Flexibility – Don’t miss an opportunity to market yourself in a fun fashion. Contests are a great way to get your name out there and win some interesting awards! TSC submitted a response to a WPO contest and received the Sustainability Award from WPO and Sam’s Club at the National Conference in San Diego for our best practices of “Going Green”. Integrate the award into all of your marketing ideas such as blogging, constant contact e-blasts, press releases, and networking opportunities. Calculate the value of what a press release posted on your website or on Face book would be in terms of newspaper and magazine prices; you get a lot of exposure for almost no cost! Constant Contact™ is a great tool for businesses to use in order to segment their contact/client database. This tool can be used to send out newsletters, surveys, and e-blasts; it also is an excellent tool for database control. Make sure your Business Plan is a fluid, living document. If I had been doing today, the same thing I was doing 13 years ago, I would be out of business. You need to be flexible in your core competencies and add/subtract to them as necessary. Figure out what your client base is right now – it may be different than what it was five years ago. We had been doing Marketing/Advertising services for many government agencies. Now they are interested in call center services, so we adjusted our core competencies and are now a player in the call center arena.
4. Develop Partnerships - When you start to look at the larger contracts in the million dollar range, it usually is not a question of whether you have the capability of doing the scope of work – the question becomes how you will staff a huge project that will not wipe out your whole staff. Do you have the location for a large project such as a call center and will you need back-up for certain parts? The smartest decision is to have partnerships in place with larger firms that can help you complete a project without depleting all of the resources in your company. Many larger firms/government agencies are looking to partner with smaller companies because they are required to give so much business to disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) and 8(a) contractors, because certain opportunities require these certifications.
5. Leverage Internal Investments - This is a basic capacity question. TSC does not believe in laying off employees to cut costs during a recession – instead look at the different ways you can use many of your employees. Many employees have several talents beyond their original scope of work. Give out a survey or have one-on-one meetings with team members and ask how they think they can contribute to further the company. Keeping employees and utilizing their other strengths brings about high morale within the company and also assists with retention rates. Keeping quality staff and dipping into your reserve is intelligent in the long run because when the sun comes out (it always does) and those contracts start to drop, you will have top-notch staff already in place to handle those projects, without having to scramble and hire new employees that are not as familiar with the quality of work your company does. For example, TSC ramped up a call center with 35 seats for an initial year long contract. However, we are now in our last contract option year and still have 25 CSRs. The call volume has gone down and we needed to figure out a way to use these employees. We recruited inside of our call center to develop a Business Development Outbound Call Center to help generate business, continue to massage relationships, and look into new partnerships. Now these CSRs have two skill level sets –inbound and outbound call centers. This also opened up a new realm of possibilities with external outbound call center services.

Finally, be financially savvy. If a bank offers you an increased credit line now, take it, even when you don’t need it, because there may be an instance in the near future where you will need that extra money. Today, banks are being very particular with who they give credit lines to and are starting to reduce the ones they do give. Establish a relationship with more than one bank. This allows you to be more flexible and also find the best deal. Give the bank a request – ask why should I give you my business? What can you do for me?

Always remember how important your invoices are. How are you going to get paid? Will you do the work first and then trust your client to pay you in a timely manner after the project ends? Or do you ask for 50 percent up front and receive the other half after the project with a 30 day guarantee? Decide before you begin!

Carolyn Sawyer, a former TV News Anchor, is President and CEO of the Tom Sawyer Company (TSC). With offices in Columbia and Washington, DC, TSC is a full service communications firm specializing in Call Center operations and Strategic Training Initiatives. Sawyer has also authored “Forget the Glass Slipper, Build Your Own Castle”, a survival guide for new business owners.