You can’t turn on the television, pick up a newspaper or go online today without hearing something about the recession and how sales are down across nearly all industries, in all markets and in just about every niche.

I hear similar complaints from people who get in touch to see if I can help them with their Website content, marketing copy or just to do a little strategizing.

The thing is, a number of my clients refused to accept the status quo -they weren’t willing to sit back and watch their businesses be destroyed. They wanted new strategies. New marketing and sales approaches. A new way of connecting with their clients and customers.

And they were very satisfied with the resulting jump in sales and profit margins.

So what’s our “secret sauce” that’s sending sales into the stratosphere? Actually it’s not that much of a secret. It’s all about understanding the latest trends, paying attention to what your customers are saying and doing – and figuring out how to give them what they want right now.

For example…

Opportunity Is Knocking… But Is Anyone Home?

If you’re in the home entertainment. video game or DVD markets or even in the restaurant business – current consumer trends show that more families are “staying in” this summer, eating at home and watching movies from the comfort of their own homes.

This actually creates a fabulous opportunity for you… If you’re willing to figure out how you can serve those customers. This is a perfect opportunity to create joint ventures and build your customer list. Here’s an example:

For one of my clients (who owns a dvd rental store in a mid-sized city), I created three partnerships with other local business owners. We started with the largest electronics store. The owner was able to secure a special deal of DVD players from his supplier at a special rate. We created a special discount rate card for customers buying the new system – where they would get one free DVD rental a month, if they purchased during the special sale. (We also created two different upsells to offer to customers who participated. One offered a 2 for 1 DVD package, with special bonus DVD rentals planned throughout the year. The second was for 5 DVD rentals for a longer period of time, and the upsell included PS2 or PS3 game rentals as well. But the real goal was to get a new list of customers who came into the store – and that we could market to in the future.)

The second partnership was with a local pizza restaurant. I can’t go into details on this one, but I can tell you that my client received a 39% jump in total sales compared with the previous year and increased his customer list 124%.

Or what about this trend?

Healthy Clients… Healthy Habits… Healthy Profits

One of the newest trends that retail giant Walmart is jumping on are in-store health clinics – where they’ve created partnerships with local hospitals. They expect to have 400 such clinics in place by 2010.

This popular trend is being fueled by two engines – affordability and accessibility. A typical visit is projected to cost the consumer only around $55.00.

So you may not be a Walmart… but if you’re in the alternative health and fitness market, or massage, or even spa treatments… What other entrepreneurs or businesses could you team up with – to create one-stop shopping that provides an incredible customer experience and gives your health and fitness clients what they want?

The Signs of the Times – Green is Good

Another very popular and growing trend is the move towards green – reducing our carbon footprint, natural healthy products and services that cater towards consumers who are concerned about our effect on the environment.

Many sectors of the travel market have been hit this year – and hit hard. And yet, there are still companies that are doing very well, in spite of the economy.

What can you learn from them?

If you can’t grow bigger, go smaller. Look for niches and sub-niches in your market or industry that have product or service gaps.

Share ideas for going green and reducing waste, energy and resources with your customers and clients. Offer ways they can get involved.

Find ways of creating experiences that offer something unique, above the ordinary. Create a message that resonates within your market. Communicate your company’s values with your clients. Speak up, take a stand and get involved in your local community. Give something back.

Trying to compete in the old ways just doesn’t cut it in today’s market. Instead, provide new services and experiences that create and build loyalty and build the buzz about who you are and what you stand for. Take advantage of the opportunities provided by the economic downturn to build your business, your customers’ loyalty and your profit margin.

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Cheryl Antier is a copywriter, ghostwriter and travel writer who helps her clients stop being invisible to the search engines, their prospects, customers and clients and creates marketing materials that turn more lookie-lous and tire tickers into buyers. To find out more, check out her Website at http://www.cherylantier.com