If you would like to see a dramatic increase in your sales or client acquisition, here are 3 areas to focus on along with some suggestions, to help you find the answers you need.
Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Why should someone hire you or buy from you, rather than one of your competitors?
Find the answer to this question and make it the cornerstone of your marketing message. It’s what sets you apart from the others. It’s what stops you having to sell, based on being the ‘cheapest’.
By the way, your answer can’t be ‘we try harder’ or ‘we offer the best customer service’. Your competitors already claim to offer that and it’s subjective. Your answer or answers must be based on something, which you can back up with facts.
2. How many of your clients or customers regularly recommend you, via a word of mouth referral?
If you are not seeing a steady flow of referrals from your existing clients, you must find out why and fix it. Find out who your most prolific referrers are and learn why they are so keen to tell the world about you. Then, share it with your other clients.
If none of your clients regularly recommend you, you need to know why. It could be a sign that you make it too hard to refer you or that they are not ‘comfortable’ recommending you to their friends.
3. How many sales leads or business enquiries does your website (or blog) generate each day?
Your website should be a lead generating machine for your business. It should be there, findable and ready, at the exact point when a prospective client or customer is looking to hire an expert or make a purchase. Please, do not scrimp when it comes to investing in your online marketing. This site generates over 100 emails a day and massively more client enquiries than I can handle. Your site should be working just as hard for you.
It’s insane to miss out on all that potential, because you’re using a DIY approach to Internet marketing. If you are not getting high quality, tangible results from your website every day, get expert help – otherwise you are going to lose a fortune in missed opportunities!
Finally
Those are 3 areas of marketing that small business owners tend to overlook, yet they can produce an exceptional return on your investment. I hope you find these ideas useful, but more importantly, I hope they motivate you to take action.