91Èȱ¬

If you own and manage your own business, why sit and wait for disaster when you could think and act like Tom Cruise in 'Mission Impossible'.

If you own and manage your own business you have two choices. You listen to the 'experts', batten down the hatches and sit out the storm, or you make a decision to improve your marketing and communications.

In a downturn the businesses that make a conscious decision to keep on communicating with their customers benefit.

This is because the best time to increase awareness of your products and services is when your competitors have gone quiet. It makes it much easier to maintain and grow brand awareness.

Being able to do this is not about having a large marketing budget. You can start by focusing on five things:

1. Your Attitude

It may sound a cliché but a positive attitude is essential. Don't just think about surviving a downturn, instead look upon it as a way to grow your business and to do things that you might not do normally.

After all, if you think and behave in the same way as everyone else, your business will be treated in the same way.

2. Existing Customers

Your existing customers are the ones more likely to remain loyal to you.ÌýWhen things are a bit uncertain, people are reluctant to try new things. This means you must look after loyal customers better than ever.

Communicate with them more regularly by e-mail, newsletter or by phone. Develop a system to ensure that you get into the habit of doing this and make sure you stick to it.ÌýYour aim is not to sell to them but to make sure that they don't forget you.

Re-examine who your real customers are?ÌýIt is likely that 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your existing customers.ÌýMake sure that that these 20% get special attention.

3. Sales Letters

Most of us hate writing such letters but a good sales letter, once written, can be used again and again. The trouble with most sales letters is that they are boring, feature driven rather than benefit driven and only sent once.

You need to create a letter that is a one-to-one conversation and which is focused on the results you deliver.ÌýInclude a P.S as well as a Guarantee.ÌýMost of your competitors will never offer a guarantee.

4. Joint-Ventures

Team up with a local business with a similar attitude to your own.ÌýYou may be in different sectors but some of their clients might be interested in the services you provide and vice versa.

If you don't explore such ideas with other businesses you'll never know.

5. Your Website

If you have a website start collecting the names and e-mail addresses of those that visit. Visitors won't freely hand over personal information, so in return offer them a free item or discount.

Once you have their contact details you can begin the process of establishing a relationship with them.ÌýProvide them with free useful information rather than sell to them directly.

To do this effectively you need an auto-responder. This is a cheap piece of software that has the potential to revolutionise how you can create a mailing list.

Nobody is denying that there might be difficult times ahead but as a business owner you can choose to meet the challenges head-on or lose valuable time by waiting to see what happens.

This article is an external contribution and expresses a personal opinion, not necessarily the views of the 91Èȱ¬.

If you have a story to tell about the credit crunch, we'd love to tell it on 91Èȱ¬ Gloucestershire online. Please get in touch by emailing Dave or Chris.