Here are few steps which could turn your business around. To begin with, enable a wide variety of payment options.

Credit cards

Do you let your customers pay using a credit card ? For some customers this makes all the difference. Your customer doesn’t have to deal with a cheque or bank transfer, your customer gets credit payment terms and you get your payment in just 4 days. Its a win win.

Procurement cards

Procurement cards are designed to deal with high volume of low value, often repetitive, purchases made on a daily basis. Most of the Local and Central Government Agencies are using procurement cards for transactions. If your business accepts procurement card, you can get onto a list of capable suppliers.

It is inexpensive.

Your invoices will be processed by the ITS Bureau into procurement card transactions for you. Your company will have to pay 25 for joining fee and 1 per transaction to the ITS Bureau.

For larger volumes ITS Procurer online can be up and running in two to five days at a cost of 350 to allow you to process telephone and mail order procurement card transactions online.

PayPal

Some customers dont want to use credit cards on sites they arent familiar with. Accept Pay Pal and they can pay by card even if you dont accept cards directly.

You could also avoid bank charges by using e-bay/paypal for all your transactions with your suppliers/customers. This can let you buy and sell without having to go through any bank at all.

2 Create a low cost variant of your existing business

Primark outperform Marks & Spencers !!

You dont want to undermine your existing business or upset your existing customers who are happy with your current offering, but are some of them already looking elsewhere for a value product.

Think about what you can do without lowering your prices. Can you create a value offering that runs alongside, so your customers can have more options without buying from your rivals?

Differentiate the product or service: The value product or service needs to be specific so that you don’t undermine your mainstream product. Can you find a lower cost equivalent; this can have a less elaborate package, or lower cost ingredients, a smaller pack size, lower service levels, shorter warranty. Have a look at Tesco’s value offering, these are just the same products the cut price stores have always been offering, but now given shelf space by the big boys to give their customers the choice without going across the road.

Differentiate the delivery: These offerings are for customers who are looking for a way to save money, not a discount invitation to present customers!!

Hence, position them in a separate room, promote in a separate brochure, create them on a separate website, let your present customers know they exist but notify them this is a cheaper option with lower levels of customer experience and product/service differences.

Option number 3, obtain potential customers

Lots of things change in a recession, and this creates opportunities.

We have all watch the redundant investment bankers on TV. Others will also be searching for new opportunities. Many will be starting new businesses.

What can you offer them: can you market to the redundany program with a franchise opportunity, business services or supplies.

But remember that most will not survive- Dont expose yourself to too much debt let them pay by credit card.