| |
| |
|
KwikMarketing.com - Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Painless Marketing for People Who Hate to Market
Face it?you know you've got to do something to keep a steady stream of clients coming to your professional service firm. But when it comes to the m-word (marketing), you'd rather not. Do any of these statements sound familiar? If we're good enough, clients will find us or we'll get plenty of referrals. We don't have time - we're busy enough and have to maximize our billable hours. We can't afford to market - we have no extra money. We have brochures and a website - isn't that enough? We don't know where to start, even if we do want to attract more clients. We can't get key people inside our firm to agree on how - or if - to start. Promoting our firm is unprofessional, unethical, and tacky. These are all legitimate perspectives and shouldn't be minimized. But what if there was a painless way to get the following results? High-quality prospects seeking you out and coming to you, instead of you having to seek them out. Your firm reaching and helping more people with what you have to offer. Increasing the volume of clients from which you can choose, allowing your firm to be selective and work with only those you truly want. Differentiating your firm from your competition and articulating what makes you and your firm special. Tapping new networks that don't know about your firm yet. Wasting no more money on ineffective brochures, flyers, web sites and other marketing materials - better yet, knowing if the investment you make is worth it. Raising your fees and being paid what you are worth. Learning how to grow and sustain your practice in any market. My guess is that you'd be willing to take a closer look at some basic marketing principles and practices, if they could generate these results for your firm. The Ugly Truth Here's the ugly truth about attracting more clients: you have to make it a priority constantly, consistently, and carefully. So what can you do to make it less painful?or even painless? The answer depends on your firm's view of marketing. Many of the professional service firms we work with tend to fall into one of two camps. Some firms are committed to using internal resources (i.e., partners, designated business development staff, or junior marketeers), and some won't or can't. Either way, marketing systems must become a core part of your day-to-day business practices. Look Before You Leap In both cases, you have to spend some time thinking about, developing, and testing what happens before you print brochures, develop a website, introduce yourself at a networking event, or write an article for a trade publication. Robert Middleton's Five Laws of Marketing captures this well: Build your base (careful attention to your message): Get Attention: what you say and write to grab your prospects' attention, introduce yourself, headline a talk or article, etc. Uniqueness: what makes you stand out from your competitors, such as a specific promise, standard, or guarantee; you must be very clear on who you do and don't serve Value: what you demonstrate through information that you share before you get hired - free articles, white papers, survey results, workshops, etc. - so that when the need arises, the client thinks of only you Authority: the proof that you're qualified to deliver what you say you can do; demonstrated via case studies with measurable results, media appearances, testimonials, bios, company background, etc. Reach out to the market (being constant and consistent): Relationship Building Systems: networking, direct outreach (personal or mass mail); keep in touch systems; centers of influence (banker, advisors), joint ventures, client relationship strategy, customer creation system, relationship selling strategy, value-based pricing strategy, next level strategies The key to these five laws is that all aspects of marketing must pull in the same direction. So if you have one vendor doing direct mail, another your website, and another your ads - particularly before you've built your base (laws 1 through 4) - chances are they're all pulling in different directions. You must have a holistic plan that keeps your firm and your vendors pulling together. Making it Happen Knowing what to do is not the same as making it happen. That's where most busy professional service firms fall down when it comes to marketing. Whether you do it yourself or hire an outside firm to help you, here's the basic process you should follow: Make a research-based plan of action that's strategic, contextual, and seamlessly aligned with your firm's business goals; set priorities. Establish a process to stay on track and motivated. Use an approach that gets your team aligned and all working toward the same goals. Factor in support, guidance, and resources for the hard work of implementation. This Won't Hurt a Bit! You don't have to tackle all of this at once. Take it one step at a time. Effective marketing takes hold organically and grows over time. A steady pace lets you experience and evaluate any changes thoughtfully. You can reasonably expect to put all of these things in place in about six to nine months. You'll see results much sooner if your first steps are thoughtful, strategic, and carefully focused on building your base. Want a prescription that will keep your business pipeline full of high-quality clients? Decide to add a little painless marketing to your weekly business routine and call me in the morning! References Levinson, J. Guerrilla Marketing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984. Middleton, R. Laws of Marketing TeleClass. Action Plan Marketing, Inc. 2003. Putman, A. Marketing Your Services. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990 (c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Marketing 101: The Power of Marketing When you hear the word "marketing" what comes to mind? More business or wasted money? If your experience with marketing or advertising has been less than positive your cynicism may be well founded. Yet, have you ever noticed a competitor with a mediocre product and a healthy business? The difference is often marketing. Plant a Seed and Watch Your Business Grow Do you have all the business you could possibly want or need? If you're like me, you're still growing your business. Marketing is an ongoing item on my agenda, and I'm always looking for new ways to market my services. Telemarketers Dont Like Them? Heres An Idea For Ya! Telemarketers.. How To Let Your Customers Search For YOU! - Part 2 First I want to welcome you to part two of the article 'How To Let Customers Search for YOU!', where you can learn how to attract new clients at any time you want. The techniques I describe here have proofed to work for me and a lot of other people. To Web or Not to Web? Do I need a web site? That is the question often asked by business owners. The answer will usually depend upon the type of product or service offered and what the business is trying to achieve. Sales and Marketing: Can One Exist Without the Other? Simply put the marketing people and the sales people depend on each other 100%. One cannot say that a marketing department is any more or less important then the guys who are closing the deals in the sales department. Non Products Exist in this World "Both the market and the distributive channel are often more crucial than the product. Products are within the business as the accountants define it. Marketing Strategy - Getting the Marketing Groove Wouldn't it be great to have a year where your marketing efforts were streamlined and got the results you were after? None of us want to struggle with marketing, and yet this is the one topic that continues to be highest in the minds of small business professionals.Let's really consider some of the reasons that can sabotage our marketing efforts, and how we can turn that around. Boost Your Business With Testimonials When used correctly, testimonials can boost your response dramatically. They help build the prospect's perception of believability, stability, honesty, and value in your product or service. How to Set (and Get) the Right Prices Which product feature of yours is every buyer keen to know about? Which sales tool closes prospects instantly? Your price. Yet, despite the far-reaching consequences of a company's pricing, I'm surprised at how little time small business owners spend on it. Selling To Your Affiliates While success with any internet marketing program falls on the head of the marketer, what the program offers in pay outs and products plays a big roll. What I am going to focus on is the product side of the business. You Cannot - Not Market Everything you do - or don't do sends a message and marketing is about sending messages. You can market well or you can market poorly, but you cannot - not market!What message are you sending with your dress, stationery, phone message and printed materials? Is it the message you intend to send? Your prospects don't listen only to the message you want to send - they observe and interpret your unintended messages as well. How To Market Effectively Even If No One Understands What You Do So how do you effectively market your product or service when one knows anything about them because you're in a new and emerging industry? How can you expect to get customers if no one understands what it is that you do?If this is your situation then a big part of your marketing strategy will need to be educating consumers about what you do. If yours is a field that is relatively new, or perhaps misunderstood, adopting an education strategy can help consumers understand the benefits you provide and feel more comfortable with the idea of purchasing your products or services. The M-Word (Marketing) Phase 2 Last month we looked at what you need to do before you spend money on marketing brochures, a website, advertising or even go out to network. During Phase 1, it's all about crafting your message. Measuring the Return on Your Direct Mail Investment In direct mail lore, there's a rule stating that you can measure the success of your efforts by a minimum response rate of 1-2%. In other words, if you send out 10,000 pieces, you'll have a successful mailing if at least 100 recipients respond to your offer. Mortgage Marketing - Viral-Email, Referral Marketing Strategy This is a devastatingly powerful way to extend your marketing reach. For this to work right you need a website that promotes your business. Commercial Collections By Telephone The telephone enables a credit manager to make many contacts in the shortest period of time. A call permits you to present your case to the debtor for immediate response. Business Cards That do the Business A business card makes a statement about who you are and what your business is about. It needs to convey the quality of your business and an insight into your personality. 50 Unbelievable Benefits Of Joint Venture Marketing What Is A Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement in which two or more businesses work on a project for a set period of time. Joint ventures can be long-term, like promoting a product together, or some can be short-term, like bartering (trading) products and services. Dont Use Yourself as Your Pricing Yardstick "I wouldn't pay more than what I charge now."If you are not a member of your target market, toss this thought about your own preferences out the window this very minute.
|
| home | site map |
| © KwikMarketing.com 2007 |
