When I talk to business owners about their marketing efforts, there’s palpable frustration most of the time. None of us have the time to DIY, and outsourcing feels like giving up. Of course I would love to make them a client…. BUT –
How about we take a look under the hood for a minute at who you are as a company? Here are five things you can do right, starting today, with no outside marketing help or extra expense.
- Define your ideal client/customer. Everyone can’t be your customer and you don’t want everyone anyway. Hone in on ideal clients based on their personalities, the kinds of work you can do for them that you enjoy, and where you can do your best work. Your ‘ideal client’ is not based on whether or not they can afford you. We should consider that a given. If they can’t afford you, they don’t fit the ideal.
- Stand for something. Your company provides X service or X product – but why? Most clients or customers can get the service or the widget of yours anywhere. The reason clients choose you will be your strong point of view, a belief system they can get behind.
- Identify wasted efforts. There are often practices you’re continuing long after they are profitable, fulfilling, or productive. We get stuck doing maintenance work on programs that don’t create value, or working for clients with diminishing returns. Look long and hard at those relationships or systems – see where you can trim the fat. When you do, you can free up time to focus on more meaningful goals!
- Set creative goals. Revenue goals are great, but what if you could reduce your customer service response time, set a goal of having 50% more return customers next month, or increase conversions within your funnel by 10%? More customers does not always equal a better business model. Think about places you can work ON your business and not just FOR your business.
- Identify the big ONE. If there was only one thing you could change about your marketing efforts, what would it be? What keeps you up at night because you just don’t have the hours in the day to get it right? At least knowing is half the battle. Put it on a sticky at your computer or on your dry erase board, and make it a priority.
If you ever need someone to ‘look under the hood’ with you, I’m always willing to chat – even about these cost-free, highly effective steps you can take on your own, today.
