Everybody is talking about the recession. If you have not been affected by it in your business, I’m sure that you know people who have. It is real and no matter how much we want to, we cannot deny it. So, what should our response be to it. Many contractors are doing less and trying to cut prices and services offered. They are also often complaining about how bad business is.

    During a recession like this there is less work out there. That much is true. That doesn’t mean that you have to have less work to do. You can actually gain customers during tough times. You do this by doing more, not less. You see there are people who have money to hire you. They just have to have a good reason to do so. The people with money to spend still want to have a great job done for them. Though they may want to get a good deal for their money, price is still often not the determining factor.

    That is why we need to offer them more value and better service, not less. The other way that we have to do more is in our marketing. You may notice that during tough times, most advertising does not produce the same results that it used to. So, in order to get the same amount of business we have to do more marketing and be a lot smarter about how we spend our marketing dollars. That is why it is doubly important to educate ourselves in how to market and promote our business.

    So remember, don’t be the contractor that cuts back on advertising, just hoping that this economy will turn around soon. Truth is, it is not going to go back to the way it was. Instead, realize that anything worthwhile is going to take some work. Do more advertisintg and do more for your customers and you will not be the one that goes out of business.