The answer quite simply is to steer more local people to YOUR business and drive sales.

“Study after study has shown that businesses small as well as large that advertise during slow times see themselves ahead of their competition during and after the recession.

Here is some research evidence to back this up

McGraw-Hill  undertook a study of 600 businesses and found that businesses that maintained or increased their advertising expenditure during the 1981-1982 recession, averaged higher sales growth during the recession and 3 years after!  By 1985 sales of aggressive recession advertisers had risen 256% over those who cut-back on advertising. 

In 2001 another study found that the businesses that advertised in a downturn increased market share 2.5 times the average for all business in the post recession economy.  In 2002 the strategic planning Institute illustrated that in contrast, during economic expansion, although 80% of businesses increased their advertising spending, there was no improvement in market share simply because everyone had increased spending.

Source: Innovating through Recession – Professor Andrew J, Razeghi, Kellog School of Management.  Full article can be found here

You can find many other pieces of research like this on the web and this strategy does not just work for large organisation but also for local small and medium businesses trying to ride the waves of recession.

If you are a small or medium sized London business, facing declining sales, budgets for communicating with customers, advertising and promotion will need to be spent in an intelligent, targeted manner, however small your budget.  Bottom line is that you need a Return on Investment (ROI) that’s going to win you more customers add revenue and profitability back into your business.

You need to communicate with your customers and not hide during downturn let them know your business is still around and providing real local value.  With the advent of the internet, communicating couldn’t be easier and more cost effective for small and medium sized businesses such as yours.  Companies need to be creative and innovative - here’s an example, of a small bakery in London that uses twitter to communicate with its customers.  It sends out the 140 character tweets to all its customers, and informs them when a new batch of freshly baked products (breads, cakes etc) are about to be emerge from the oven.  Very simply customers are drawn to the bakery, because they want hot freshly baked product.

If your not sure of the web applications, don’t be put off, we can help you understand and implement use of online tools such as this, within a few minutes

You can read the full story here:

London Bakery Uses Twitter Marketing

How can Directory of London.net help your business ?

If you search on the web, there are a number of business directories, most of these are static. i.e. they have information such as the name of your company, address, URL, and contact details.  Do they allow the following?

·         Video of your business, e.g. interview with you, the owner

·         Article or blog written about your products and services

·         Use of  Social Marketing sites to promote your business e.g. Twitter, Hellotxt

·         Set up of a business blog for you

·         Video testimonials from your customers

·         .......the list is endless

Of course not!, but with directroyoflondon.net we are able to customise advertising to your needs at a price that will be AFFORDABLE.

In addition we can add coupons and special offers to your listing, which will help to drive more customers to you.  In these lean times, customers are hunting for bargains, discounts and ways to save money.  Providing customers with a discount coupon will help your business win more customers.

This kind of dynamic information aimed at London’s local residents and tourists would set your business far ahead of your competitors.  When it comes to running a successful London business, you cannot achieve that without differentiating your offering and then advertising and promoting that value to potential buyers.....but that advertising needs to be targeted and within your budget.

As an example:  As a potential customer, if you were looking to plan an event like a kid’s birthday party and you were searching for suitable venues.  On an ordinary directory you would only get the basic information.  Alternatively, if you could see a video of the premises, perhaps an interview with the owner, and testimonials.....would that help to sway you?  Rich information like this, on a local business will help steer potential customers your way.  These are customers ready to be sold the benefits of your business and made into happy repeat customers, or at the least customers that will spread their great experience of your business via word of mouth and the internet.

Tens of Thousands of London residents are actively looking for businesses on the internet to buy from and you need to be providing them in-depth information as to why they should buy from you, and we can help you convey your message.

Having an online presence is vitally important, but it’s not just good enough having a website.  Your online presence needs to be appealing, and magnetic i.e. attract customers to read more and learn more about you and your services. Above all, your web presence needs to be communicated.  One of the most effective methods of achieving this, is through Social Media Marketing.  We are in Social Media Marketing as well as overall internet marketing and can help you set up an easy to follow way to promote your business day in day out.  This kind of marketing is much more cost effective than traditional advertising and can build a loyal base of customers over time.

There are 3 options to for the advertising listing on the London Directory:

·         Featured Listing

·         Regular Link

·         Free listing
                                             

Contact us via the website Directory ofLondon.net to learn more on how we can help you with a “Business Recession Advertising Strategy” and customise the support exactly to your needs.

Please remember that we aim to provide our services tailored to your budget.