Thanks for accessing this free guide. In uncertain times it can be all too easy to panic and start to do less and allow your business to contract…
You may be focussed on what you can’t do rather than seeking out those things that you can do…
Following some or all of these ideas efficiently in your business will have amazing results.
It should also help to reignite the positive thought processes that you know you need for your business thrive.
✅ Use PR – spread good news
- Do it yourself to start with (when it’s successful you can pay someone to really ramp things up!)
- Create a plan for the year with a target for each quarter
- Find angles on other stories and promote the success of your customers
- Follow the news and offer your thoughts to the media when relevant
- Write stories about your customers and include a small comment about how they have benefitted from your support. For instance if you are an architect and you have just designed a new veterinary practice – the story is that the veterinary business has just opened its doors and business is booming – they offer modern facilities thanks to the amazing design provided by local architects ABC & Co
✅ It’s what you do with PR that counts…
- Once your news stories appear in newspapers, on the radio, on the television or via online news channels – get shouting – tell everyone you know
- Use social media and email lists – get your staff to do the same and even ask friends and associates to share the word…
- Put a “News” section on your website with links to the articles…
- If you really want to leverage this story – buy 50 copies of the paper and post the article to 50 other veterinary practices with a cover letter explaining how you are experts in their field…
- Then follow up asking them if they have plans to expand or improve facilities…
✅ Create a structured referral system
- Thank all new customers for their business and then tell them that they are going to receive outstanding service. Give them two reasons:
- You are incredibly proud of what you do
- Your business relies on recommendation to grow
- Then remember to ask for introductions at the right time
- Every time you receive an introduction that results in a new customer – say thank you to the person who introduced you.
✅ Use multiple marketing methods
- If all your enquiries come from one source then your business is at risk
- Develop multiple sources – aim for between 6 and 10
- Plan your resources – Set targets for each and dedicate resources (time and money) to each
- Use a calendar to make sure you can manage everything effectively
- Mix up online AND offline methods in conjunction with each other
- Make sure all methods feel consistent with each other and that they are linked
✅ Street marketing
- Imagine where you might look for the order that will save your business…
- Be bold. Be yourself. Be proud
- Don’t sell the product, only sell the introduction – then follow up.
- Only do as much as you can follow up.
- Be tenacious…
✅ Communicate more
- Send emails once a week as a minimum to your prospects
- Keep them brief and to the point with opportunities to click to somewhere else for more info. (Notice how you came to be reading this report!)
- Use a system that allows you to see who is interested in what you have to say
- Only speak to interested people…
- Make efficient use of social media. And make sure you have a planned campaign of what you want to say
- Also make sure you can always direct them to relevant dedicated landing pages
✅ Find ways to work with like-minded businesses
- Joint ventures can be incredibly powerful and very cost effective
- Who has access to your target customers
- If you make wedding cakes – speak to EVERY dress supplier, EVERY wedding venue, EVERY car hire company, EVERY photographer
- By the time you have spoken to a few, you’ll know what they are looking for from any joint venture or strategic alliance.
✅ Don’t forget unconverted leads!
- So often people do not buy because this is the wrong time
- If you’ve not already done so, right now would be a good time to reach out those people who didn’t buy
- Create a prospect group of them all with useful information like reasons they didn’t buy or time wasn’t right
- Plan campaigns and then agree to follow up at a later stage
- Keep in touch
- Then follow up as promised…
✅ Educate yourself
- Attend seminars and relevant networking meetings
- Read, watch and listen to relevant information to help you achieve your goals (The Saturday Strategy Podcasts make good start in this respect)
- Only listen to people who are doing it themselves! In other words, ask the web marketing company how much of their business comes from online or ask to see the show-reel of the video production company. Ask them how much business it’s won them…
✅ Create valuable content
- Aim for 80% of your contact to be valuable to the prospect (use the remaining 20% to sell)
- Think; Case studies, how-to guides, checklists, white-papers, video courses, podcasts etc…
- Learn about “the audience of one”. In other-words, imagine you are speaking to just one person.
- Be clear about the difference between benefits and features. Then tell your story.
- Do the “we we” test. Read your marketing materials and make sure that the word ‘you’ outnumbers the word ‘we’ by at least five-to-one
✅ Make sure your sales messages sell!
- Make sure your sales messages have a clear “call-to-action” (CTA)
- Think; Buy now, book here, download, get instant access, get a quick-quote, arrange a free survey etc…
- Repeat your CTA frequently in your sales messages
- Make the buying process simple and easy. Buy something on Amazon or book a test drive with Mercedes to experience how easy this should be
✅ Measure your marketing
- Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t
- Use small tests for new methods
- Discover what works then do those things brilliantly
- AND do those things consistently
- Avoid FTI – the biggest danger in business… (Failure to implement)
- DO LESS BETTER!
I hope you’ve found something useful in there.
Maybe it’s a new idea or a reminder to get better at an area where you’ve taken your eye off the ball.
Wherever you are, please remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands of other great ideas to help you look after and develop your existing customer relationships.
As well as ideas to sharpen up your marketing so you can generate more leads or increase footfall and traffic and then win more new business.
If this has been a useful guide – you can download a one-page pdf version here:
Has this article got you thinking about your business and how you want to grab the reins and drive it forward but you struggle to find the time or feel that you lack the skills or knowledge to do so?
Are you looking at your screen wondering how or if Good2Great could possibly help you to build a better future for you and your company?
If so, why not check out free ways to learn more either at a seminar or in a free one-to-one business health check.
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