Are you going to fight for new business in 2009, or are you going to sit on the sidelines and watch your competition get more business than you? If you are a fighter, you should find this article of special interest.

No one exactly knows what is going to happen in 2009. However, you will most likely not generate the same amount of business that you did in 2008. Times are tough for most everyone, but the ones that are ready to fight for new business will grow or maintain their sales, while the ones watching and worrying will lose!

I don't have a crystal ball to forecast the future, but I'm sure that your existing clients will purchase less of your products or services in 2009. Unfortunately, some of us will lose clients during this year not because we have bad products or services.

So what are you going to do in 2009? Are you going to cut your advertising and marketing budget as a way to save money? If so, you are making one of the classic marketing mistakes that many businesses make in tough economic times. Research has shown that businesses that change, maintain or expand their advertising and marketing efforts recover faster, maintain their growth and find new customers ready and willing to buy now.

Older Marketing Techniques Just Don't Work As Well Anymore
If you are advertising and marketing using the same techniques that you have in the past, you might want to look at modifying your budget to include new methods that allow potential clients to find you. Why would you modify your advertising plan for 2009? Here are a few reasons.

Less people will be purchasing newspapers and magazines, which means less exposure if you are a print advertiser. Direct mail marketing expenses will be going up in 2009 with changes to the postal requirements for direct mail and a pending increase in postage rates. This means your costs will go up, and your reach will go down. Yellow Pages and other traditional forms of advertising will not work as well as they have in the past.

You don't think this is true? In our office complex there are eight businesses. Each time the phone books are delivered only one of the eight takes their phone book. The other seven copies sit under the mail boxes until someone picks them up and throws them in the dumpster. The primary reason for this is more and more potential customers are using the Internet to find sources for products and services.

Do you want to know where the fight for business will take place?
The fight for new business will take place on the Internet in 2009 and beyond. If you are still sitting on the sidelines to see if the Internet is the place to be, you are about to lose your chance to take advantage of the most cost effective media available. According to eMarketing $24 Billion dollars will be spent on Online Advertising in 2009. You don't think for a minute that businesses are sending billions of dollars just because advertising on the Internet is cool? The two main reasons why businesses are using Internet advertisings is that it works and there is 100% accountability for each dollar spent.

There are many types of Internet advertising that can be used by you in 2009 to generate more sales. And the best news, most of the advertising is less expensive than traditional forms of advertising and has a higher market reach.

So are you going to be a fighter 2009?

James Conant is the owner and president of USA Marketing Associates.
© Copyright 2008 James Conant