I’m a small business marketing consultant who’s called into every conceivable situation, good and bad.  GM has many issues I don’t know about or probably wouldn’t understand if I did that have made the slowdown in demand for cars so devastating.  However, two things have been painfully obvious: if they hadn’t been so married to the profits in big SUVs and trucks, they wouldn’t be in this mess; if they hadn’t been acting in such half measures these past few years, they wouldn’t be in this mess.

Is there a person in American who couldn’t have told GM three years ago the obvious, that the era of big SUVs is coming to an end?  How long ago was gas over $4/gallon?  How long ago was there a waiting list to buy a Prius?

Lesson #1: Embrace reality.  Your marketing will improve if you do.

I don’t fault GM for selling people big SUVs.  I fault them for not at the same time creating a “moon shot” program to develop the types of hybrid and electric cars people wanted and want to buy.  They might argue they have done this.  They haven’t (see Lesson #2 below).  If they had we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Now, forget about GM, they may be too large to fail, but you aren’t.  Nobody’s bailing you out.  So, embrace reality.  If people haven’t slowed down buying what you sell, but the writing’s on the wall that they will, get busy with Plan B.  What will they buy?  Start developing or sourcing that.  Don’t wait.  That’s the GM lesson.

Lesson #2: When you act to solve a marketing problem, make sure you solve the problem.

I heard a GM spokesperson on TV talking proudly about how many cars they have that average over 40 MPG and touting their new hybrids.  That’s just pathetic.  First, nobody’s buying those 40 MPG cars, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.  Second, GM’s newest hybrids (at least the ones they’re spending millions promoting): Escalade and Tahoe.

If so many good people weren’t losing their jobs because of management’s stupidity, introducing a hybrid Escalade would be laughable.  Seriously, a hybrid Escalade. Gee, is that like low-fat bacon?

So, if you have a problem to solve, make sure your solution is a solution.

I always ask the “zero-based” question at times like these: if you were starting over, right now, in your space, what product would you sell, how would you sell it and who would you invest money in promoting it to?  That’s what you should be doing right now, not introducing a hybrid Escalade.

The answer to the “what product would you sell?” part of that question sounds an awful lot like, in GM’s case, the Chevy Volt, right?  All electric, good range, looks cool.  Except it’s too expensive and way, way late.

Again, if you have a problem to solve, make sure your solution is a solution.  And again, forget about GM.  But nobody’s going to bail you out except you.  So, embrace the reality you’re in, and when you act, make sure you make changes that are big enough to make a difference.  And please, no Escalade hybrids!

Doctor: So stop doing that.

Small business owner: How do I attract new customers in today’s economy?

Small business marketing consultant: Sell what people are buying.

While the doctor’s advice falls a bit short, the marketing consultant is on to something powerful, however simplistic it may strike you at first.

I sat with a small business owner just yesterday who is struggling.  They offer training classes on a variety of subjects.  As I listened to what they’re doing to “right the ship” I was impressed.  Very proactive.  Yet there was one thing that jumped out at me.  They continue to promote the classes that are not filling up.  Their job is to fill up classes.  Logical, right?  Logical during normal times.  But not now.

A long-standing truism in business is that training is one of the first things you throw overboard when things get tough.  When 9-11 happened those splashes you heard on 9-12 were my training clients.

My advice: add more of the classes that are filling up and promote them until they stop filling up; and don’t worry about the ones that aren’t. 

How does that advice translate to how you are approaching your marketing in this economy?

As a small business marketing consultant I’m called into companies more often when things are bad.  These days, however, things are different.  I first wrote about the slowdown in December of 2007, warning small business owners to check their marketing message (as economic conditions change, so do buying motivations).

What’s the most powerful marketing question for today?  It’s the question you should be asking your top customers: 

How can I help you get through this mess?

Think about it.  If a vendor came to you and asked you this question, how would you feel?  Like they were on your side, like they cared, like they are in this with you.  Well, guess what, we’re all in this together.  What happens to your customers happens to you.  Eventually.

So, start asking this question and you’ll get some interesting answers.

The fact is, regardless of who buys from you, there are other types of customers that represent an opportunity when your current customer group stops buying.  Who, you say?

Look no further than your sales records.  I bet you there’s a group or two of customers, probably small, who just sort of “find” you.  That is, you don’t advertise to them or spend any time or money attracting them.  You don’t have any brochures that speak to their specific concerns.  Again, they find you, not vise versa.

A residential pool remodeling client that did the occasional commercial pool project is now actively courting commercial customers with great success.  In fact, I shutter to think where we’d be without them in today’s economy (residential sales have dropped. . .off a cliff).

Here’s a good one, especially if you’re having a hard time thinking about a small unlikely type of new customer.  Don’t forget your competitors.  We have a client, Freelance Electronics, that is starting to attract competitors as customers.  Okay, I admit, they are unique.  They buy and sell surplus electronics.  They need to continually buy new supplies of surplus they can then resell.  And competitors represent a great source to buy surplus from.

So, what small group of customers have been buying from you and what are you going to do to start attracting more of them?  Where are they?  What are their buying criteria?  How do they like to be sold to?  What are the main issues they face today?

Come on, get going, before one of my clients beats you to it!!