Sales for many companies are slow, but that doesn’t mean you should fold up your tent and hide. Marketing or public relations today can pay off tomorrow when a potential customer remembers that you’re doing something right.

Here are a few ideas. Maybe you have some of your own that you’d be willing to share.

• If you’re sourcing your lumber from Indiana and not Indonesia, say so!
• Are your lumber and panel products certified in one of the programs? If you’re not telling customers you’re missing the bus.
• Your product is American made? Canadian made? Brag, my boy!
• You’re employing people in your own community, supporting families and paying taxes. These are all givens, but may be worth saying in a subtle way.
• Have you made a green change in your operation recently? (This is the big one.) Switched to water-based finishes? Installed a new dust collection system?  Reduced the amount of material going into a landfill?  Recycled in some other way? If you don’t talk about it, no one will know.
• You have some great people in the shop who have worked for the company for many years. Say so. Experience makes a good product.
• Talk up training. Maybe Joe completed a course in operating the CNC router more efficiently, and Paul is in training on a new design software program. Well-trained people produce a better product.

Got more ideas? Then share them with us on Sawdust Soup, the networking site for woodworking professionals. There is one group just for Marketing Ideas. There’s another talking about using social networking. You’ll find them all at www.sawdustsoup.com.