Are you bidding on enough customers right now?

I’ve recently gotten into browsing online estate sale auctions. I love seeing what people have in their homes.

If I place a bid, I have to be prepared to win—but not expect it.

I have to be prepared because I might find myself on the hook for the cost of the item.

But I can’t expect it, because I can’t get emotionally invested in having something I might not get.

In other words, it’s like marketing.

When you market your services, you place a bid on potential customers.

You can’t expect to win all of them, or you’ll get complacent and stop marketing.

But you have to be prepared with systems and processes in place in case you win more than you thought you would. You have to be prepared to deliver on your promises and give them a top-notch experience with your brand.

Every company is searching for the balance of marketing enough that they have a steady flow of business, but not so much that their capacity gets overwhelmed.

Sometimes, it doesn’t take much marketing to win a lot of customers. In times like that, you err on the side of beefing up your operations to meet the demand.

Now is not one of those times.

This economy is one in which marketing a lot, and marketing consistently, is necessary for most industries and companies to keep the stream of customers flowing.

You need to bid on more customers now to win the same amount that you would have won a year ago.

Now is not the time to be afraid that you’ll overwhelm your capacity. Now is the time when an overflowing plate is a good problem to have.

If you end up with more customers than you bargained for, there are lots of people who’d love to come work for you and serve them.

Now’s the time to stand up and bid high.

As a freelance writer, I can help you complete marketing projects without adding a full-time person to the payroll. Interested in working together? Send me an email at jane@janeesmith.com.