For Big Returns, Think Small:
Marketing Your Independent Business
like a Corporation Will Hurt You
Many people who start their own businesses
were business people before striking out on their own. Corporate
business people. It’s
not always an easy transition, and there’s a huge learning
curve…especially when it comes to marketing. The
marketing mistake I see corporate refugees making most frequently
is this: they apply corporate marketing principles their independent businesses.
Marketing a corporation is about promoting
an image. Corporations
count on clients seeing them everywhere. From the supermarket to
the airport, their messaging is all around us…all the time.
Each particular “touch” is fairly irrelevant…it’s
the pervasiveness and consistency of the imaging that does the grunt
work of corporate marketing.
Unless you have a huge marketing budget, this
won’t work for
you. Independent businesses have to be more direct…and get
people to take action right away. Your job is to tell people exactly
what you want them to do…if they are interested in what you
do. So your best marketing investment lies in building a compelling
case for your expertise, a captivating story about your services,
and a strong call to action so that people who have all the information
about your skill set will make the decision to work with you.
Example: You are an attorney. A client refers
a colleague who has a challenging probate case to you by giving
them your card. Before
the prospect calls, she goes to your website. She’ll be wondering, “Does
this attorney handle probate? Is he very experienced with probate?
There is a lot of money in the balance. Does he have articles or
a list of cases that display his expertise in probate law?”
Say the website confirms that probate is your
specialty. The Website
is clear, and easy to navigate. The prospect already feels you are
a good communicator and easy to understand. Your phone number is
clearly listed with instructions to call or email to discuss a future
case. They call to discuss the case.
For this attorney, building the informative
site was essential, the branding or image was secondary. This is consistently true for
small business owners. An informative site tells potential clients
about your business upfront – including key information such
as who your service is for, what services you offer, what to expect
when they call, case studies, testimonials, and articles. It should
also be easy to navigate, easy to read and include your contact
information in a highly visible location.
Don’t neglect the "call to action." Ask
your potential client to take the next step. Do you want her to call you? Email
you? Sign up for your newsletter? Tell her exactly what steps you
want her to take, and make it easy for her to do it!
Share your story, show you are capable, give plenty of
supporting evidence…and then ask for the bsuiness.
Almost Everything Communications
510-527-9920 karen@almost-everything.com
627 Evelyn Avenue, Albany, CA 94706 |
