Get the Word Out Now

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen an increase in small-business marketing budgets in the last few weeks.

More small businesses are realizing that they need to market and promote their services more than ever to get their piece of the consumer’s shrinking budget.

After all, if you don’t get your name in front of potential customers, you’ll be swallowed up by the competition who is actively marketing their products and services.

As Robert Kiyosaki (author of the “Rich Dad” book series) states in the November 2008 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine, “When times get tough, your job is to promote more, not less.”

Look at Long-Term Benefits

Sure. You’ll save time and money if you stop promotional efforts. But months from now, when you don’t have any media clippings or potential clients lined up from lack of activity, you’ll feel the pain of playing “catch up.”

Competitors who have been consistently promoting their marketing messages will be far ahead of you. Plus, it will take another four to six months to get published in print venues that have advanced editorial deadlines. And you’ll need to start from scratch to build media momentum so you’ll be way behind in many ways.

With this in mind, try to keep your marketing and public-relations activities going. This can mean hiring a boutique PR agency or doing the work yourself if your money is really tight.

After all, it doesn’t cost anything but time and effort to call up a media member and pitch a unique story angle or write and post a press release on the free sites out there (see my list at www.rembrandtwrites.com).

Now is not the time to be quiet. Get the word out about your business any way you can now. You’ll build buzz and sales and be that much farther ahead of the competition when the economy turns around.

By Melanie Rembrandt