What Is the Best Way to Relaunch a Business?
By Brad Sugars Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
I recently had a number of setbacks early in the year which slowed things down dramatically. Now that things are getting back on track again, I need to figure out how to get back into the race. Any general suggestions on marketing, gaining new customers and so on?
Good to hear things are getting back on track for you. The first thing you really need to do is go back to your existing customers and customer base (including leads and prospects databases) and reintroduce yourself and the business to them. That is your “low hanging fruit” -- and it’s always easier and less expensive to re-convert existing or old customers than to go out and find new ones.
Depending on the business and how you left it, would a name change be in the works? Re-positioning your products or services under a new moniker could help drive the message that you are re-launching, and might also help attract a new customer base. It really just depends on your business, your reputation as an owner and the reputation of the company in your market or industry.
If you are a business-to-business company, a re-launch campaign could be as simple as some personal phone calls and a well-targeted email (or conventional mail) campaign and phone follow-up. If you’re a retailer -- location is important -- and if you’re looking to offer different products or services, new signage and positioning would need to come before an updated “grand opening” campaign. But if you left customers in good standing, a grand “re-opening” under your old business badge would also be a good tactic.
The bottom line is that business relationships are simply another form of personal relationships, and rekindling “old flames” can be as simple as going back to those people and “reaching out” to them. Some will respond, some won’t. But if you had a decent business before your setbacks, you should be able to regenerate positive cashflow and repeat business before you spend any additional resources on buying new customers.
Hope this helps. Good luck on your comeback!
