At a time like this, everyone I speak with complains: the economy is bad, sales are falling, customers are disappearing, and so on.

I went to exercise and talked with my trainer; he said he had lost more than 40% of his clients. Then I talked with the snack vendor at the entrance of my alley, and she complained too—her customers had dropped by more than half, probably because online snack sellers had taken them away.

I could only think to myself that just the other day, an online seller had come to consult me as well, asking what to do because sales were falling.

In short, business owners everywhere are complaining. Whether online or offline, there are no exceptions. Even instant noodles have declining sales, leaving many people wondering what exactly is happening with the Thai economy.

But complaining changes nothing. Life has to go on. So today, Solbugtong would like to present digital marketing strategies for a sluggish economy.

They can be summarized as follows:

1) Draw on existing goodwill: sell to your current customer base

According to theory, the cost of acquiring a new customer is three to five times higher than the cost of retaining an existing one. So in an economy like this, chasing new customers is difficult. We should turn our attention instead to existing or former customers who have already used our products or services.

Anyone who has done digital marketing for even a while should have accumulated at least some customer database—email addresses, phone numbers, Line@ contacts, and so on.

The simplest way is to send emails to sell products, or run Facebook ads using Custom Audience by importing those emails or phone numbers into Facebook’s advertising system, so that only the people whose emails or numbers we specify will see the ad.

For anyone who has done digital marketing but never collected any customer database at all—I would like permission to take out a cane and stripe your backside!

Start today. Start right now. Do not make me angry!

2) Discounts, giveaways, promotions

One of the most classic strategies is running promotions.

Personally, I usually avoid this strategy because it feels like cutting into one’s own profit and may hurt the brand in the long run. But in an economic situation like this, I see it as an exception.

Holding inventory and being unable to sell it is worse than selling it and bringing in cash first. It is a good opportunity to clear products, reduce stock to the lowest possible level, and lower risk.

This could be done through discounts or bundling products together—buy 2 get 1 free, buy this and get that, free shipping, and so on.

This strategy can also be used together with Strategy 1 by focusing promotions on existing customers who have already bought from us, because the chance that existing customers will buy again is much higher than the chance of finding new ones.

3) Find the community first, then find products to sell

This point is for new merchants who are preparing to jump into online selling during a downturn.

I am asked very often: if I want to sell online, what should I sell? Cream? Clothes? Bags? But a much better question is: to whom are you going to sell online?

If we can clearly identify who our target customers are and know where they live on the internet, the chances of success in selling will be much higher.

Try quietly entering communities or Facebook Groups with many members. Look at what people are discussing, and think about what products would suit them.

There is a case from a junior I know. He openly admits, like a real man, that he is gay. He was already active in online groups of fellow gay men. Then one day he discovered a major issue many of them were concerned about: most gay men had dark buttocks and wanted them to be fairer.

This junior was very advanced in his thinking, so he created a new innovation: a cream for dark buttocks.

Instead of making facial whitening cream, where there were already hundreds or thousands of competitors, he created cream for dark buttocks instead—and sold it only within online groups of gay men.

My junior told me only two short words: "Cannot produce fast enough."

For people who already have products in hand, this strategy can also be adapted. Look around for online groups where your customers are likely to be, and try presenting your product there—if the group allows it.

These three strategies are simple ones. Everyone should be able to adapt and apply them to their own business.

Solbugtong would like to encourage everyone to get through this economic crisis.