Written by: Cliff Hand, President, Marketing Specific, Inc.

3 Steps To Better Marketing

I cannot tell you how many times I sit down with potential clients to begin a business relationship and I ask a few very simple questions:  why do you want a website and what do you think you can gain by having one?   It still makes my head spin when they respond, “because everyone else has one” or they simply say “I don’t know.”  To me that is like saying, “why do I need air?”

This week I have met with clientele that have been in business for years and they don’t even have a URL. That is amazing to me. These clients become my favorites. They really don’t know what to do or where to go. That’s where I come in and become a trusted tour guide.

If you fall into this category, don't worry, there is hope. It is not a 12 step program but rather a 3 step program.

CONNECT:

Try to connect with your client on every level.  Join the local chamber and get involved in community service events. Build relationships that will form the foundation that your business will be built on. I have two sons that continue to remind me that they like the Dad I am now. I know what that means. It equates to TIME. I now take the time to stop and pick up rock, play catch, or just smell the flowers. They bond with me on an entirely new level. Be that for your clients.

INFORM:

Let potential clients know what you do. Be passionate when you speak of what you have to offer. Be persistent. If the answer is not "NO" that means it could be "YES". Go the extra mile. Think about how you describe your business. Think about the economy, current events, things that may strike an emotional cord. In marketing, when times are lean everyone wants to cut the marketing guy. To me that is backwards thinking, but it is reality. How do I describe my business right now? Affordable marketing. My new tag line that you now see on our website is this: “Marketing is about listening, solving, producing and enjoying the relationships we gain along the way.” That tag represents the very core of why I do what I do. I love the challenge of getting the business but more so, I love the relationships I gain when the job is done and done well.

GROW:

The first business I had was creating demonstrative evidence for the legal field. Tough business to be in when your office exists only when the car is not in the garage. I remember the anxiety I had when there was too much work for me and things started falling through the cracks. I remember being completely overwhelmed thinking about hiring an employee and the responsibility that comes with that decision. It was like conceiving a child. Now I will have to feed and care for another human being. If I’m starving, they will be starving. It was horrible. I sold the business before I had to make that decision. If I knew then, what I know now, I might have kept that business. I would have stood with my toes over the precipice anticipating the jump not knowing where I might land. I would have tightened my bootstraps and adjusted my cape before flight. I say all this to help you know that if you have this fear, with age and wisdom, it can go away. As I have grown older I also have grown bolder. My business will grow as I grow. Grow your business one contact at a time. Be relentless in your pursuit.

Here is my tip of the day.  In your mind make your business bigger than it is, speak of it in that way and it will soon take on that persona. Your clients will be grateful that you did.

Cliff Hand is President and Marketing Consultant with Marketing Specific, Inc. specializing in design, web design, photography, marketing and helping businesses grow.