|
1, 2, 3,4… Are Customers Knocking Down Your Door?
Chances
are, if you are reading this article, the answer is a resounding “No”.
Pay close attention to the following ‘to do’ list, complete with tasks to
begin, in order to generate more business, expand your clientele, and achieve
business success:
1. Barter with a potential client on a project or with another business
owner on one of their projects that is overwhelming them. If they are
satisfied with your services they will refer you to others and possibly pay for
your services on the next project.
2. Start an email or print newsletter. Create a mailing list of
site visitors or potential customers. Be sure to include information about
your practice in general, as well as interesting tidbits about your industry
that are not well known. You may offer special prices exclusively for
newsletter subscribers as well as a list of the upcoming events that you may be
hosting or attending. You may sell advertising space in your newsletter to cover
the costs of production.
3. Advertise in local online and offline media that target your
niche market. Whether it is an ad in the only newspaper in the country for
Moms or a classified in a women entrepreneur’s directory, you will receive
results from carefully selected placements. You need not advertise
everywhere. Quality publications will provide you with the results that you
want.
4. Create an email signature with your company name, phone number,
website address, email address, and a quick description of your company or brief
highlight of your products/services. Include it in all of your emails and
mailing list broadcasts.
5. Volunteer your professional services or donate your products to
charities and non-profit organizations that need your assistance but cannot
afford them. They will, more often than not, be happy to mention what you
have done for them to their board members, reception guests and staff.
6. Join an online or offline networking group where you can learn from
other women in your industry and on certain days promote your specials that your
business may be having. Not only will you have a list of women that you
can ask advice from but those trusting relationships will build a business
referral system between all of you.
7. Host an online business chat on a topic of great interest to members
of your online and offline community. Send email invitations to all of
your clients, potential clients, online friends, family and friends so that they
may benefit from the expertise you have to offer to them complimentary.
8. Write a bylined article using your expertise you have gained from your
business and highlight something of interest in your industry; a topic of
interest to readers of the publication or members of the website where you are
submitting the article.
9. Partner your website with another site in your industry or a network
of sites that compliment your current site audience. Your site’s members will
benefit from your partner’s content and vice versea.
10. List your website in the major search engines and use keywords
which will provide you with prominent placement in the search engines. You
may also invest in the ‘pay per click’ keyword search engines, as well.
Once you start to implement some of
the abovementioned tasks in order to generate more sales and expand your client
base, it is important to remember that you must persistently promote yourself to
your target market. Failure to continuously promote yourself, in one way or
another each day, will hinder how far your business grows. Even after you
obtain the amount of clients that you desire, remember to continue to promote
your business to your target market for continued success.
-----------------
Dana Victoria Sophia, a small business consultant/coach and publicist to women
entrepreneurs across the country, actively assists women in achieving their
business goals through her website for small business coaching (www.DanaSophia.com)
and her website for small business public relations (www.SophiaPR.com). She can
be reached at (800)249-3346 or Dana@SophiaPR.com.
|