San Francisco has by no means been immune to the economic crisis. And just like the rest of the country, small Bay Area businesses are trying to figure out the best way to attract customers and boost their bottom line. Should precious marketing dollars be spent on direct mailers, website redesigns, and marketing material updates? Is it worth it? Will it pay off? Or is it best to put a freeze on spending, hold on to what we’ve got and white knuckle it until the storm subsides?
As the owner of the greeting card company, She’s SO Creative, if I couldn’t think of “creative” solution to help boost my own sales, then I really needed to evaluate a name change! First, I defined the problem: I’d been working with a San Francisco sales rep company to contact stores and sell my cards. In exchange, I paid the reps a 15% commission. But in this sluggish economy, the reps were just not getting the sales…at all. I know it’s tough out there for them too, but all sympathy aside, this is a business and I seriously needed to re-evaluate how I was going to salvage my business. So I made the tough decision to let the reps go.
Then I spent my own precious marketing dollars designing and producing a clever direct mailer. I also decided to offer my customers free shipping (which I could now afford since I was no longer paying commissions). I saved myself further costs by stuffing, stamping, and sealing all the direct mailers myself. Finally, I crossed my fingers, took a deep breath and sent them on their merry way.
The bottom line: I successfully opened new accounts, covered the costs of the direct mailers, and boosted sales! I was creative in how I handled the sales rep situation, the design of the mailers, and my marketing plan. Yes, times are tough, but if we arm ourselves with a ton of creative ammunition, we can kick this economy’s butt!
(originally appeared in SF Examiner 3/16/09)