Small business marketing ideasFor most of us business owners times like this really do feel like the end of the World. Every day there is more and more uncertainty about what is going to happen next.

Depending on where you are located you might be asked to close your business until further notice.

 

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Sounds insane, right? For any of us going 3 weeks without any business is the end of the world, at least the end of the world as we know it. 

 

There’s Hope, Even in Down Times

For many business owners reading this article we are going to have a lot more time on our hands than normal. 

 

And let’s face it, most successful business owners don’t just throw in the towel, that’s what makes us successful business owners. 

 

For me, 2008/2009 was so far the hardest times I have had as a 20-year small business owner. At one point, my company was losing 60K a month, a month! If I would have known then what I know now, I would have done things differently.

 

This Time Looks the Same But Feels Different

 

 During the 2008 financial crisis, everyone went broke almost immediately. I knew people worth $50 million on paper who had to declare bankruptcy 6 months later.  How crazy is that? Most of us couldn’t even imagine that.

 

With the whole housing bubble, everyone was over-leveraged and high on housing equity. People were living way beyond their means. You know, McDonald’s workers, buying 500K dollar homes! 

 

So, Why is This Different? 

 

Even though the stock market shed 10,000 points in a couple of weeks, most of us still have the same amount of money in the bank that we had 2 weeks ago. Except for a 401k or IRA, many of us have little direct exposure to stock markets.

 

If you are not retiring this year, you more than likely have just about the same in your retirement a year or so from now when this all passes. I know it’s hard to believe that when you just watched 30% or more disappear quicker than a family vacation, but it’s true. 

 

I’m a Small Business Owner, What Now?

 

For many small business owners, there are going to be low-interest small business loans made available. For more information please visit the SBA’s Coronavirus Small Business Guidance & Loan Resourses Page.

 

I am not sure how the loan programs are going to work for most business owners. I always try to be optimistic, and at the same time, there are things we should be doing as business owners that can help pass the time and grow our business online. 

 

#1 Marketing to Do During the Coronavirus Shut Down, Get Google Reviews!

 

Google business reviews For businesses that have been around for a year or more, many of us have 10’s, 100s’ and even 1000’s, of past customers that we could reach out to, ask how that are holding up, and maybe it sounds sick, but ask them if they could leave a review for you. 

 

This isn’t the end of the World, and many people are sitting around on the internet anyways, leaving a Google review can take as little as 10 seconds if you send them your Google My Business page review link. 

 

Not sure how to do that, reach out to me, I will show you how or copy the link and email it to you whether you are a client of ours or not. Contact Ryan Goering 

 

#2 Marketing to Do During the Coronavirus, Work on Your Website

If you manage your website or another company manages it, start making changes and adding new content, images, projects, whatever you can do to set your company apart from your competition. 

 

Maybe some of your competition won’t make it, either way, many will, and some of them are making changes as we speak. Some of them are investing more in online marketing, I happen to own a marketing company, they are.

 

Don’t have a website, I am sure there are some web designers out there willing to work for toilet paper, literally! 

 

#3 Marketing to Do During the Coronavirus Outbreak, Facebook

 

I own a marketing company, I never understood being on Facebook or using it as a small business owner, until a few years ago. Just in the United States, there are 220.5 Million Facebook users, 220 Million! 

 

There are only 330 million people in the US! 

 

Think about that?  There is no cheaper avenue for getting in front of the required audience. Through paid advertising, you can pinpoint zip codes, cities, neighborhoods, even groups. 

 

Google Adwords works as well, but it has gotten expensive, and in some cases more than many small businesses cannot afford it. 

 

You can start branding your company and getting in front of potential customers for as little as $5 a day! 

You are about to learn how to live without Starbucks, without eating out, invest some of that money in your business.

 

The Take-Away

 

We don’t know what’s going to happen next month or the month after that. 

Let’s be honest, as small business owners, we very rarely know what’s going to happen next month or the month after that.

 

This is what sets us apart from the herd, this uncertainty is what makes us successful, most of us thrive on it, most small business owners use uncertainty to motivate change and keep moving the bar! 

 

There are many things a business owner can do to market their business, for more information please feel free to reach out to us! Contact Us

Ryan Goering, Creactive Inc. Owner, Veteran, Over 20 years as a small business owner.Ryan Goering SEO & Online Marketer

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