Eager to
expand your client base and
spread the word about your
products and services? Wondering
if you should even bother with marketing programs
if you don't have thousands of
dollars to spend?The answer,
of course, is yes. It's
financially riskier for a business not
to market. And there are
literally hundreds of
cost-effective ideas you can use
to increase your revenue. Here
are five high-impact marketing
approaches that don't cost a
bundle and that can work for
virtually every business.
1. Talk to your clients.
It's amazing how much money
businesses spend to gather
market information and attract
new clients when they have a
wealth of opportunity and
information in their existing
client base. One of the best
ways to increase revenue is to
talk to existing customers.
Ideally, this should be done by
someone outside your company so
clients are willing to be honest
and open.
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When you assess perceptions,
you don't need to talk to
hundreds of individuals; simply
choose 5 to ten clients and
contact them to ask if they'd
participate in a phone interview.
Here's how it works:
1. Send a letter asking
permission to have someone
contact them about your company.
2. Have the interviewer call
and ask value-based questions
such as:
- What problems were
you trying to solve or what
challenges were you facing
when you considered the
services of Company ABC?
- How important were
Company ABC's services in
solving your problems or
addressing your challenges?
- What did you value most
about this company's work?
- What other products or
services do you wish they
offered that could help you
with other business
challenges?
3. After all the interviews
have been conducted, compile the
information to discover trends and
themes.
4. Send a thank-you letter to
every client who participated.
Include key lessons from the
interviews and explain the
specific changes you plan to
make to your business based on
this information.
The important part here is to
use what you learn. If you don't
make changes to your business,
then you've wasted everyone's
time. One company that recently
did this tripled its business in
one year-the owners learned what
people wanted, how their
solution made a difference, how
to present it, and how to price
it, and then proceeded to make
changes that improved those
areas.
Keys to success: The
conversation with your customers
is just that, a conversation.
Don't fire questions at them;
instead, have the interviewer
engage in a conversation and
gather as much valuable data as
you can. Remember, it's not
about how satisfied they
are-it's about how much they
valued your product or service.
2. Creatively package your
marketing campaigns. A
postcard is one way to market
your business. But how about
putting a small box together
with a fork, knife, spoon and a
custom printed napkin that
invites your prospect to "have
lunch on us?" Think outside the
box, and your marketing
campaigns will have more impact.
And don't be afraid to see
what other people in other
industries are doing and adapt
that to your business. Think
about the little details that
will get attention. I once did a
marketing program to the food
industry that had a brochure
vacuum-sealed in the same
plastic used to wrap bacon. The
same piece sent to technology
companies used static shield
envelopes. This campaign earned
96% recognition when follow-up
calls were placed.
Keys to success: Set a
clear objective for your
marketing campaign, and identify
how you'll measure its success.
Then follow up to measure the
results and adjust the program
if necessary.
3. Get the word out with
publicity. Think you can't
do PR or publicity without
employing the services of a
high-priced firm? You can!
Although a good firm brings
tremendous contacts and
experience, most small companies
can do enough PR on their own to
spark the public's interest. One
great resource for the media
unsavvy comes from Shock PR, a
Holliston, Massachusetts-based
public relations firm. Their
product, PR in a Box, delivers
templates, tips and step-by-step
instructions on how to prepare
releases and pitch stories that
will intrigue the media.
Keys to success: In
one word, leverage. Though it
does happen, don't expect one
story placement to generate
thousands in revenue. Your
success depends on leveraging
each press release, each article
and each published mention. Put
it all on your Web site: Create
a news page and add a What's New
area on your home page. Add it
to your marketing kit and send
the piece to clients, colleagues
and professional organizations.
Include a note in your
newsletter that says 'Recently
Seen In...' And remember: PR is
more cost-effective and more
credible than advertising.
4. Leverage existing
relationships. Most people
know at least 200 people. Do the
math: If you know 200 people and
they each know 200 people,
that's 40,000 potential
contacts! Spend time developing
relationships with the people
you already know-clients,
colleagues, people you meet
through professional networking
organizations, friends and even
family.
Start by making a list of all
the people you know. Next,
prioritize your list into As, Bs
and Cs. As are your advocates.
These are the people who feel
strongly about you. They're the
"cheerleaders" who would refer
business to you right now. Bs
could become advocates if they
knew more about you, so you need
to spend time with these people
to educate them. Cs are those
people you don't communicate
with often enough. You may keep
them in the loop, but they need
more time and nurturing before
they'd refer any business your
way. If there are any names that
remain, delete them.
Keys to success:
Educate, don't sell. The key
here is to build relationships.
These develop over time as you
create credibility and trust. To
be truly effective, you must
always be on the lookout for
ways you can help your network.
Start from the perspective of
giving more than you ask, and
your network will become your
most valuable marketing tool.
5. Commit to e-mail
marketing. Marketing through
e-mail is flexible,
cost-effective, easy to measure
(assuming you put the right
tracking in place), and high
impact. It allows you to easily
drive traffic to your Web site,
reach a broad geographic
audience and stay in frequent
contact with your customers and
prospects. E-mail marketing
allows you to market your
services and establish
your expertise with your
audience.
Use it for newsletters, new
product announcements or to
share your publicity success-the
ideas are endless. But know that
this flexibility and ease-of-use
can cause problems. Remember,
this is a marketing campaign. So
be sure to think it through,
develop an appropriate message,
create a piece that reflects
your brand, know your
objectives, and make sure the
information is valuable for your
market, or people will quickly
unsubscribe.
Keys to success: Don't
be seen as a "spammer"! Send
e-mail only to those people who
have given permission. When
someone asks to be removed,
respond immediately.
