A lot has been made of the current economic crisis and how it can affect your business’ long and short-term goals. With all the doom and gloom in the media, it may seem like there is no silver lining for SMB owners, however according to an article by Ramit Plushnick-Masti in the
Associated Press highlights that a down economy may be the perfect time for you to grow your business.

While it may sound improbable, Plushnick-Masti’s piece highlights a couple of small manufacturing technology companies that have seen their sales rise despite the economic downturn. Some of the articles highlights included:

Conicity’s Executive Vice President Bill Shaffer, whose company has seen an increase of 75% revenue amidst the troubles around him, sums his success by saying, “(When the economy is booming) it’s easy to step over a small company. But now they can’t look away.”

Lynn Vos, a Savannah-area director of the University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center shares an insightful reasoning to why some smaller companies are striving in a down economy, “That’s the beauty of a small business. Small businesses are able to roll out products quicker than corporate behemoths. They can respond quickly to changing market forces and they’re not afraid to try.”

Click here to read the full article.

While your business might not be able to help large corporations like General Motors or John Deere cut costs, you may be able to make a similar impact to and assist other businesses and individual consumers in your area. Think of ways of how your business can help them save money, some ideas that immediately come to mind are:

• Market the savings: When you promote your product or service, demonstrate the savings to the potential customers. This will help them visualize how they can use your business to help them cut costs.
• Team with other companies: Partner with a neighboring company to offer potential customers savings on products (i.e. “Save 20% at Company X when you purchase from Company Y, and vice versa.”) This may help pull in customers that potentially may not have been acquirable before.
• Don’t be afraid to adapt: If you notice a need for service that is not being met within your target audience, consider adding it to your small business. Maybe your flower shop could start offering boxed candy, or your pet grooming store can start offering other animal necessities (food, toys, etc.)

By making your product or service a necessity, that happens to be affordable, you will help raise your chances of acquiring new customers while also building upon the existing customer base.

What can you do to make your company affordably attractive to your potential customer base?