Are you looking for ways to increase sales during a slow economy? You need enough sales to keep your business afloat, no matter what the circumstances. Here's how:

1. Don't Get Desperate

You may face many temptations during a slow economy to do many things you wouldn't think normally think of. You don't want to succumb to those temptations, however, because it may hurt your business in the end. You should avoid confusing or frustrating your customers by switching the way you conduct business. You should also avoid penalties from the search engines by only using legitimate methods to increase page rank. Improve your strategies to increase sales during a slow economy, and make changes that make business sense. Don't make any changes out of desperation.

2. Sell to Existing Customers

You can increase sales by offering additional products or services to existing customers, along with special offers and discounts. They will be more open to doing repeat business with you because of their current loyalty. Determine what products you can pitch to enhance your business, or ones that are related to what they've already ordered. This means that you have to have systems in place to track how customers conduct business with you. Take the time to come up with ways to track how, what and why clients are buying from you.

3. Sell to Past Customers

Go through your database and generate a list of past customers. Call them or send emails and pitch your products or services again. Send out a survey to recent customers to find out their level of satisfaction with your business. Resolve any issues or causes of dissatisfaction as best you can, and apologize for any mistakes on your part. Some of your past customers will appreciate your efforts and may return to do more business with you.

4. Get Publicity

A slow economy is not just affecting you, it's weighing on your customers. You can get their attention through the media. This is the time to generate as much publicity as possible. First, write (or find a freelancer) a press release to submit to online news outlets, as well as local and regional media. Your press release should be newsworthy. For example, you can organize an event, announce the launch of a new product, service, or team member, or comment on industry news.

Follow up with calls to your local and online media to confirm that they've received it, and take the opportunity to make your pitch again. You can submit your press release for free on websites like www.bestsyndication.com or use a paid service like www.prweb.com. You can find contact information for your local news reporters and talk radio hosts on the stations' websites or at www.nab.org.

5. Sell on Ecommerce Sites

If you're not currently selling on Amazon, Ebay or other major ecommerce websites, you should, especially to increase sales during a slow economy. Many companies sell on Amazon in addition to their own website, because of the large amount of buying and selling that takes place on an hourly basis. At least one third of all ecommerce takes place on Amazon. You can increase the visibility of your company by selling there.

Once a customer buys from you from Amazon or Ebay, you can include a business card or flyer in the shipment to promote your website and other products.