For many of service-based businesses out there, it's not that you don't know you should be marketing or don't want to get better at it. It's just that you don't. For some, it might be that you don't really know what to do, so you're doing nothing. And that includes not taking any action to learn more and find out what to do. If you were a car, you'd be stuck in PARK. For some, it's not that you don't know what to do, you just don't. Other things always seem to take precedence. You have to call those prospects back that never returned your call from twelve weeks ago. Maybe you have to re-index your collection of business cards. If you were a car, you'd be stuck in NEUTRAL. Still for others, you're doing as much as you can to market your services, but you're just not getting the results you'd like to have. It gets frustrating, because each of your ideas cost time and money, but you're not seeing the payoff. If you were a car, you'd be stuck in the MUD! If you want to get GROWING with your service business, then you must get GOING with your marketing. You need to have a plan and a system in place that will... ...get you unstuck, ...make yourself accountable for getting it done, and ...give you something actionable to follow so that you can be as productive as possible with your non-client time. Above all, you must GET GOING to GET GROWING! Here are five identifiable and essential steps for you to get going with your marketing. 1. Begin with Laser Focus. If you haven't established clarity and focus about where you are going with your business, then you might as well be driving around in the dark, blindfolded and without headlights. Just by spending some time to clarify and write down what you are trying to do with your business, your vision for where you want to take the business, and five to ten specific and measurable goals you'd like to accomplish for the coming months and year -- you'll be ahead of most of the service businesses out there. Spend some additional time to define a very specific target market you'd like to penetrate and what it is that uniquely differentiates you from other alternatives. The focus on a niche allows you to create greater connection to prospects in the target audience than if you market to everyone. The half day to a day or so you spend thinking through and actually writing these things down will give you more clarity, focus and motivation to keep you moving forward than you can imagine. 2. Position your business for great success. There are a number of key components that once developed can and should exist throughout your marketing. Start by developing an attention getting message that focuses on your target clients and the challenges you want to help them overcome. Don't try to get too fancy. What you need is a concise, powerful statement that says who you work with and what problems, issues or challenges you want to help them overcome. Additional key components: * Articulate specific results and benefits of your services.
* Compile evidences of success including case studies and testimonials.
* Determine what you can offer to lower your prospects risk of doing business with you. With all these client-focused elements in hand, you'll position your business for success that others simply don't have. 3. Create better marketing materials. If you've completed steps one and two, then you've done most of the groundwork for your marketing materials. Notice how everything is about your clients and prospects, and not about you or your company. Whether you work on a web site, special report, tip sheet, newsletter, etc., keep the focus on your clients and prospects and what you can do for them. Most of the material out there just goes on and on about whom you are and what you do. That just does not work. People want to know what's in it for them and how you can help them solve their problems. Also, try to make it clear what action you want your audience to take - call, email, order, etc. Ever read through someone's material and then you have no clue what you should do next? I see it all the time. Your audience will appreciate it if you guide them a bit as to what action they should take. 4. Get known in your marketplace. This is where a majority of service businesses start. They immediately start joining networking groups and trying to spread the word that they're in business. But look at how much work we just did before now. I'm not suggesting you need to complete all of steps one, two, and three before you start trying to get visibility for yourself, but just think of how well prepared you will be to make an impression and follow-up if you've spent time on each of these previous steps. Now you can get actively involved in networking, set up one-on-one meetings with networking contacts to deepen relationships, and start looking for places to share your valuable information through speaking and writing opportunities. You'll create visibility for yourself so people can start to feel like they know you, like you, trust you and want to do business with you. 5. Deploy marketing initiatives and begin a cycle of continuous improvement. Marketing is not a one time event. There is no end destination where you're finished, sit back and let the marketing start working for you. You must continuously monitor what's working and what's not working. Test your messages, offers, target lists, etc. Think about what it could mean to your business if you could increase the effectiveness of one of your marketing tools by 2, 5, 10, or 20 times the response. That's the power of testing. Consider scheduling regular time and begin working through these essential steps as best you can. I guarantee you won't be stuck in park, stuck in neutral, or stuck in the mud for long. Remember, you must get going to get growing and I just gave you a five step plan to do it. (c) - Kevin Dervin, KPD Marketing |
