Marketing Challenge: Reaching Your Clients
Marketing for Small Businesses Series
One challenge facing small businesses is figuring out how to effectively reach your clients. Like teaching, there’s no one way to reach your audience. Some people learn better visually, others learn best by listening, while others need to touch and interact with ideas. The same is true with marketing. There isn’t one “correct” method to reach clients – try different methods to see which ones are the most effective for your client base. Many strategies work well together and build upon each other. A few options include:
Face to face meetings with existing and potential clients are one of the best ways to increase their knowledge of your company and what you offer.
Present or moderate at a conference or professional association meeting. This type of experience shows you as the expert.
Announce interesting news (via email/social media/web site) such as recent new contracts, products, hires, offices opened, and professional recognition/awards.
Hold webinar sessions for clients about a topic of interest – share your expertise on a topic with which other clients might struggle.
Publish a White Paper about an interesting solutions to an industry issue.
Be active in social media – comment on or like news pertinent to your industry on social media platforms, post your own article or repost other articles with your commentary.
Write a blog – Write about issues of interest in your space with new content on a consistent basis.
Attend professional events to meet new people and be visible to people you know.
Innovate. Think of new ideas. What other ways are there to reach your clients?
These are a few proven strategies to increase visibility. I don’t recommend inundating your clients/potential clients with information about your company too often. Get on a schedule to touch base periodically. Often you can schedule around industry conferences and events, and then fill in the gaps with news, emails, webinars, etc. Ultimately, the idea is that this visibility will lead to strong awareness of what your business offers and ultimately bring in new business with your client base.
