Small Business Maize 

OK........so the market scares you right now. Will you freeze, pop your head in the sand and hope it disappears or take action? To make things work for your business during harsh economic times you may need to take different action to your competitors. The normal reaction to fear on the marketplace is to tighten up, reduce spending and sit and wait it out. Traditionally, the marketing budget is an area that business owners trim first. However, Dr. Sharan Jagpal, of Rutgers University and author of Fusion for Profit: How Marketing & Finance Can Work Together to Create Value, says bad times are the worst times to cut the marketing budget. "In a recession, it’s harder to gain new customers, to convince existing customers to buy more, and to win back customers who have left," he said. "So companies often need to be spending more money, not less. They just need to be smart about it." Read More