Leads, sales and enquiries are the life blood of any business, which is why it’s a top priority for small business owners.
Most small business owners start out because they’ve got a talent or skill, have seen an opening in the market or want to be your own boss. They haven’t studied marketing, so it’s a case of winging it, using trial and error and learning as they go!
It’s only when the leads dry up that they take a closer look at their marketing activities. And that’s when they discover they’ve been using a splatter gun approach when they could have been using a targeted strategy!
Marketing isn’t rocket science, but like anything, there’s an easy way and a hard way of doing things! When you take a strategic approach, you can make life easier, seeing measurable results for your efforts and evaluating what’s giving you the best return on your investment.
• Attract
• Engage
• Convert
• Upsell
When leads and enquiries start to slow down, you can usually track it back to less activity in one of these areas.
So, let’s take a look at each in turn…
This is where you spread the word about your business, get visible and make sure your potential customers remember you. The marketing activities in this phase include:
• Search engine optimisation (don’t know what this is? Read about it here)
• Directory listings - get in front of customers when they’re looking for help (learn more about these here)
• Websites – the digital backbone of every business and the first-place potential customers look (not sure if you need one? Read this blog before you decide)
• Facebook marketing - free, easy and still effective (see for yourself on our Facebook page)
• Networking - face to face networking is still a great place to connect
In this phase you start the conversation with your customers and help them understand what you offer, if they need it and why they should choose you. This can happen in a number of ways, here’s a round-up of the most popular choices:
• Blogs on your website, where you educate, inspire and entertain
• Videos on your website, social media and directory listings
• Social media posting – there’s a lot of platforms to choose from so pick one and stick to it
• Email marketing – still the most effective method (Not doing email marketing? Discover what you’re missing out on here)
• Beacon marketing – this new technology is personalising marketing messages like never before (Discover how it works in this blog post)
During the convert phase you turn a conversation in to a sale! It’s the place where money is exchanged for goods and services and happens on a number of platforms:
• Website – clients buy your products and services direct form your website
• Sale page – you have a page dedicated to selling one thing (a bit like a service page but with less distractions)
• Email offers – making offers via email gets a great return on investment
• Telephone – phone calls that close the deal
• Apps – Mobile apps can create surge in sales espacially when users are provided easy access to information and services they need (See more about Business Key App here)
So, you’ve got a delighted customer who loves your products or services, now what? Do you just hope they remember to come back when they need you again? NO! This is where regular contact is important, so you stay top of mind and give them an opportunity to purchase from you in the future. How do you do this? Using these channels:
• Email marketing – send regular emails and make offers every few months
• Facebook groups – create a Facebook group and build a community for your clients
• Phone contact – keep in touch with your customers every 3 months with a friendly check-in via telephone
• Snail mail – think about sending a card on special occasions to jog their memory and delight them
• Free content – offer free content that’ll be useful and keep them engaged
Why don’t you review each of the four areas and see where you’re marketing is most active. Usually there’s a phase you could improve, and this will generate more leads, sales and enquiries as a result.
Speak to the team at Goldfields Key on - 08 9022 8422