In the current economic downturn, you have two choices:

1) Cut your overhead and expenses as much as possible, hunker down and hope to ride out the storm until something or someone changes things for the better.

2) Take charge and make measured and calculated moves to insure that you have enough store traffic to not only survive but turn a profit.

If you're like me, taking charge and making smart moves is by far the better option.

Every marketing and advertising step you take needs to have a laser- like focus on your target market. No image ads, no paying to reach people who aren't likely to come to your store.

So what are some smart marketing moves you can make?

1) Email or direct mail postcards to your customer list

2) Direct mail postcards to the neighborhoods or zip codes within a 3-5 mile radius of your store

3) Get the most out of your free Google and Yahoo search listing by making sure you have included relevant information about your store

4) Improve your store's visibility through a-frame signs, walking billboards, vehicle wraps

5) Only run newspaper ads in local editions of newspapers that reach your target market

6) Run TV ads that only reach your customer demographics in the neighborhoods and zip codes surrounding your store

7) Partner with other businesses in your area and market to each other's customer list

8) Partner with charities in your target market and promote to their member list in exchange for a donation of a percentage of sales

These are several low cost ways you can acquire new customers and get your repeats to buy from you again.

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