Thanks for your comments. I agree, every business is different in the way they handle the economy. And a lot of it comes down to knowing who your clients are and reaching out to them in the most efficient way possible.

I congratulate you on bringing in more per client right now than ever before. It sounds like this economy really has you focused on reaching down to who your true client is and giving them what they want. Maybe it also made you realize a change was needed in the clients you are targeting, and finding out how you can work less and earn more per client. Hopefully you’ll take that into the future as well and continue building the higher end clients over time.

Good luck with your future business. I know your business will be just fine.

Lori

The trouble is, we’re not all Wal-Marts. We don’t have huge budgets. We don’t make our money pushing low-cost items that people need — like food and clothes. Too many of us — myself included — have seen advertising dollars absolutely wasted on channels that just don’t deliver customers.

I sell a high-ticket item — helicopter charters and multi-day excursions. As the economy sinks lower and lower into the financial abyss, my business is drying. I’ve pulled ALL of my advertising, with the exception of already printed rack cards that I can distribute for free, and am saving thousands of dollars a year. I call this “hunker down mode.” Reduce costs and wait it out. New business is still coming in slowly and it’s the kind of business I prefer anyway: high-ticket excursions and custom charter work. Instead of flying 8 times a week and bringing in $5000, I’m flying 2 times a week and bringing in $3000 to $4000. The folks with the big money will always have it, but they don’t rely on traditional advertising channels to find service providers. Word of mouth is my best and cheapest advertising method right now.

I guess what I think you should have done here is to make it clear what kind of business you’re talking about. We’re not all Wal-Marts and most of us simply can’t afford to keep going full tilt when the economy is down and customers are scarce.