Ever wonder why some businesses fail and others succeed? Marketing is the key. If your potential customers don’t know you exist then you won’t get the business – period.
Take a look at your current business situation. Are you doing all you can do to educate the world about your business? Are you consistently working on building relationships with your existing customers AND the potential ones? Remember, even after you close business with a customer, you need to maintain that relationship because you don’t know who they know – therefore, you have no idea of the potential growth of the relationship. Don’t lose touch.
Here’s a list of some of the marketing tools you NEED to be utilizing – don’t wait, do it now.
1. Join a networking group in your area. I joined the group BNI. BNI is a world wide company that is built on the concept of givers gain – you get what you give. We meet once a week and educate each other (other business owners) about our businesses. The result of this regular meeting is we learn of their businesses and pass along referrals. It’s also nice because in each group, only 1 person represents and industry so we don’t compete with each other. It’s a great group and is a MUST for any business.
2. Blogs/Website Content. Like the one you are reading now. I’ve made it a goal to write something on my business site on a regular basis…once a week, once a month – something. Help your customers with tips and ideas or post about an event that you are going to and what you learned from it.
3. Mailing Campaigns. There is a fine line between annoying your customers and staying top of mind with them. I like to do both snail mail and email campaigns with contact at least every 6 months. These don’t HAVE to be sales related either… it could be a tip that you picked up somewhere or just a “Hey, how are you?” Maybe your clients would appreciate a special deal or coupon or maybe you might want to host an event to catch up. We found a great way to keep in touch with personalized cards. The program includes a contact manager that is great for reminders etc. You can learn more about it online: https://www.sendoutcards.com/lord.
4. Press Releases and Articles. Did you know there are several places online where you could post an article or a press release about your company. Are you active in any charities…if not, why not. It’s good for the soul and good for business (what comes around goes around). Be part of a charity event and write an article about it and then get it posted. The publicity will help the charity and you.
So there you have it, I hope you learned something. Building and maintaining relationships is the key to your success. Don’t be one of those companies that never markets or advertises their business until they advertise it for sale.