Editor’s note: Steve Henke is president of Harpeth Marketing, a Franklin, Tenn., marketing firm providing consulting and outsourced marketing services in the market research industry. He can be reached at 615-415-3980 or at steve@harpethmarketing.com.
There isn’t a business owner or manager who is ever 100 percent satisfied with where the growth of their company is today! We all want it to improve revenue, increase client mix, create new services to sell, increase repeat business and so on.
And when one year winds down (for better or worse) and we all look ahead to the next year we naturally think about making improvements. But tackling so many changes can be daunting, so much so that often nothing changes and we stay on the same path we’re on right now.
To avoid that kind of paralysis, don’t think about making large-scale changes and instead commit to just one thing and do it well. To help, here are 15 ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Good luck!
1. Refresh your Web site. I’m not talking about a total overhaul of your site’s design and copy, but go through it and make sure it’s up to date. For example, are all of your service lines listed, is the site optimized for mobile and are there easy links to your social media sites?
2. Commit to content marketing. You’re in the knowledge business. You get hired because of your expertise and experience. Because of that, one of your top marketing strategies should be to share a little of that knowledge – through blog posts, articles, e-books, etc. Put a plan in place for 2015 to publish and promote helpful content on a regular basis.
3. Start engaging on social media. Most firms have a corporate LinkedIn profile and most of their employees have personal profiles. Many people also post things (somewhat) regularly to their profiles. But the real power of social media is in the engagement – in starting or participating in online conversations as a way of sharing knowledge and insights – not selling. Find a LinkedIn group or two where you’re likely to find your clients and prospects and participate regularly.
4. Try advertising. When was the last time you ran an ad campaign? Yes, campaign – not just one ad. If it’s been a while, consider testing one in 2015 as a way to build awareness across your target markets. Think about print ads in key industry magazines, pay-per-click (PPC) ads on Google and LinkedIn or banner ads on industry Web sites or inside of an association’s e-newsletter. Then measure the results.
5. Pick up the phone. Not every interaction with a sales prospect can be electronic – sometimes, you just have to talk with them. Based on a prospect’s interest level, pick up the phone and call them, establish the start of a relationship and qualify them. And even if they’re not ready to buy just yet, at least they’ll know who you are when it is time.
6. Target strategic prospects. Not every sales prospect should be treated equally. There are a few out there that could make a significant difference to your business – either because of their size, reputation or status. And because some firms are different, so should be your approach to acquiring them as clients. Spend some time now putting together a marketing and sales plan – custom-built for each targeted client – then execute like crazy in 2015.
7. Survey your clients. I’m not talking about post-project customer satisfaction surveys but rather the big-picture questions: “How are we doing?” “Where can we improve?” “Why did you hire us the first time?” “How are we different from other firms?” Really try to get a handle on why they are your clients.
8. Survey your ex-clients. Not all of your clients stay with you forever. Ask a few of your ex-clients why they left, who they’re working with now and why. You often learn more when you fail than when you succeed.
9. Try a city blitz. The next time you go out of town to visit a client, plan to stay a couple of extra days, visiting several other sales prospects in the same town. Your biggest travel expenses are covered. It will just cost a couple of extra days in a hotel and meals. This is your chance to sit down face-to-face with multiple prospects.
10. Attend a different conference. We all seem to get in the habit of going to the same conferences every year and that’s fine. But in 2015, add a new one to the mix – one you’ve never been to before. The educational program will probably have a different slant to it and it’s a great way to meet new vendors and network with a completely different group. Not sure where to go? Easy: ask your clients where they will be going next year.
11. Speak publicly. Speaking of conferences, do you have a story to tell that conference attendees might benefit from? Reach out to the event producers and see if they are still looking for speakers for their 2015 events. Speaking builds awareness and positions you as an industry thought-leader.
12. Present a Webinar. Webinars are another way of building awareness and positioning yourself as a thought leader. The downside is that you have to take care of the production and the promotion yourself and it’s not in-person. The upside is that you capture the contact information of everyone who registers for it – adding new names to your database – and there are no travel costs.
13. Invest in your sales people. Recommit to sales excellence in 2015 and invest in things that can make that happen: sales training programs, sending your reps to conferences (for industry education and networking), acquiring new technology to improve their productivity, etc.
14. Launch a new service line. Want to get your clients and your staff excited? Launch a new service in 2015. It will give your staff – especially your sales team – something different to talk to clients and prospects about. And if it’s really interesting, news of it will get covered in industry magazines and on Web sites.
15. Create a marketing and sales plan. If your business development has been primarily reactive and unplanned in the past, commit to creating a plan in 2015. It doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking but take the time to think through what you need to do (strategy first, then tactics), create a calendar and budget for making it happen, execute and then measure the results. For a little more detail on creating a plan, read this article on creating a marketing plan.
Bottom line
Change is hard. We all get comfortable with how we’re doing things – and we’re already plenty busy – but to improve your current standing, you have to do something new. As you look ahead to 2015, now’s the time to commit. Who knows? Doing the first thing might just lead to a second or a third.
Remember, if you keep doing what you’re doing you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.