You have set up your own business… Congratulations, you are officially an entrepreneur! But before you join the ranks of the Bransons and the Trumps, it is important that you keep focused and not make the same mistakes that thousands of new businesses have succumbed to over the years.
Marketing Strategy
The most important strategy that any business can have is its marketing strategy. Don’t assume that “if you build it they will come” just because you posted an ad in the local paper and did some ad-hock work for Mrs. Jones in town that the word will spread about your wonderful services. In this digital age, marketing has an even bigger platform: the internet.
Blog-
Having a Blog is an important feature in your marketing strategy, it allows you to provide “newsy” information to capture your reader’s interest.
Website-
Prospective clients rarely use catalogs or phone books, these days they will be searching the world wide web for their service providers, so ensure you have an up to date attractive website.Your website should not only be an “online brochure” for your business with Contact information, Price Lists, and Services but it is also your “Public Face” so it should be neat and project the proper image for your business.
Link your social media pages to this website too as they will continually feed new information into your site and this regular activity is picked up by Google and will enhance your websites visibility long term. Your website needs to have plenty of meta tags describing your services or products, as these will be picked up in any online searches by prospective clients.
Social Media-
Use social media to advertise any special offers or events you have coming up to get your business name known in the right circles. Social media gone viral has transformed one man companies into overnight successes so use today’s modern technology to your advantage. You may already have a personal Facebook or twitter profile but you also need a professional one, and more importantly you need to update it regularly and follow like-minded people in your industry. Also set up a Google+ account and get your business registered on LinkedIn to be connected to thousands of businesses and prospects across the globe instantly.
Email-
Your business should have a system in place to contact your customers and prospects. After they visit your website you need to “capture” their contact information so that you can keep in touch and so they will get to know you and come to view you as a valuable resource. There are a variety of email service providers that can deliver thousands of emails at a time such as Aweber this service is often called an “autoresponder” because it can be used to automatically respond to requests for information. Through your account you can also manage subscribers, and do marketing tests like “split testing” where you send different messages to different segments of your subscribers so you will know which message performed better.
Physical Personal Marketing-
You should take the opportunity to tell those you personally meet about your new business and they should be able to see your excitement for the product or services you provide.
Phone-
Getting a business phone number is a step so often missed out by new entrepreneurs, but the ability for customers to contact you any time on a specific work number is extremely valuable to busy professionals who need to be available to clients new and old. Make sure you get a good phone contract with good coverage so you don’t miss a call – providers such as mobi-data.co.uk give 97% UK coverage. The importance of making a good first impression has never been more important than for entrepreneurs who are walking ambassadors for their business.
Business Cards-
Be prepared where ever you go, there is nothing less appealing than seeing a business man or woman scrabbling in their bag for a scrap of paper to write their details on, so print out some quality business cards and store them in a stylish metal card holder. This will show your prospects that you are professional and it’s the little touches that show you will go the extra mile with your customers too.
Customers are ultimately the anchor for any successful business, and remember that people talk so don’t underestimate the importance of taking exceptional care of your clients. Not completing follow up courtesy calls, late replies to emails and missed appointments will discourage clients from working with you again, and worse still they are likely to share their experiences with others, so avoid embarrassment and make customer care your number one priority!
You might also enjoy:
- Empower Your Sales Team with Effective Training Videos
- Mobile Marketing:Â Opportunities, Challenges, and Trends
- Promoting Your Business Through Advertising
- What Makes a Good Blog?
- Which Social Media Platform is the Best One for You?
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