Businesses in most industries have traditionally grown through repeat business and referrals, not so much through advertising and marketing. When the recession hit hard at the end of 2008, a lot of well-established large and mid-sized companies stopped spending and some even closed their doors. Long-term relationships ended. This had a major ripple effect on the small businesses that counted on these companies for steady work. Most companies had to let people go, even if those people were talented, because the work just wasn’t there to support them.

It seems like companies are now starting to get their confidence back. More people were hired last month than any other month within the past 4 years. New companies are being formed by entrepreneurial individuals who were laid off. Home prices are slowly ticking back upwards. People are still struggling, but I believe in the American spirit – we will not stay down, it’s not our way. We’re fighters. I also believe that God doesn’t waste our pain; he has a perfect purpose for everything. I think we needed to be reminded of how lucky we are, and how we should appreciate every blessing, and do it better this time around.

I heard an analogy once that has stuck with me; the past is dry concrete, the future is wet cement. The web has continued to explode even through the recession. It’s where people go to make their purchasing decisions nowadays. A strong web site gives you the opportunity to pre-qualify prospects while they are pre-qualifying your company. Driving prospects to your web site creates an opportunity for you to (literally) connect with them, either through a phone call generated or an email sent, an ecommerce purchase, or by them joining your social networking sites. As the internet converges more and more with TV, businesses will have more of a “channel” than a web site that will attract the audience that it appeals to.

The bottom line is, the old way of doing business was just to expect that the companies that were spending money with you would continue to do so. Those days are over- for now anyway. The new way of doing business is that you put your business where you know your prospects will be spending their time (the web, TV, tradeshows, etc.) and you hit them with a compelling, meaningful message that inspires them to interact with you.

How have things changed for your company through the recession? Comments welcomed!

Contact The Idea Center today to talk about how you can most effectively reach out to your current and prospective clients.