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From the Remodeling Magazine Blog
There are two essential elements to focus on when you plan a business marketing strategy.
One is Educating your potential clients, and the second is to become creative by Reinventing your marketing. When you’re planning a marketing strategy, think of reinventing your company and being creative. Whoever said “if you keep doing the same thing expect the same results,” didn’t own a business. If you keep using the same marketing strategy and expecting the same results, the business world could pass you by. Methods that worked well in the past might not work now or in the future. To effectively market your business, you’ll need to re-invent your company.
When you educate your ideal customer and guide them through the buyer’s cycle of getting them to “know, like, and trust” you, you’ll make considerable progress towards earning the project. One of the purposes of your marketing process should be to provide clarity to your customers and clients–basically, walking a prospect through the process, which allows you to convert more prospects into clients. Creating a plan to lead clients through this process really forces you to create a marketing process and is the beginning stage of a true marketing system that helps your company convert leads to clients. It helps you take someone who shows an interest in your business and using that momentum to make them a client.
One step in the early stages of the buyer’s cycle is allowing the prospect a chance to get to know you and your team. Effective marketing is about getting in front of people with frequency, with their permission and providing great content and useful information. Ideally, this stage should be about education and building trust by sharing your expertise, and should involve the concept of permission marketing.
Permission marketing is the privilege of delivering a personal and relevant message to your ideal client. Your ideal client should expect and want this information.
Here is an example of permission marketing:
Develop a “white paper” of useful information your potential clients value. If you are a kitchen designer, would your customers be interested in an information packet called “The Best Modern Kitchen Designs?” If your ideal clients desire modern kitchens, take control of this niche by educating them on the topic. Create a form on your website that allows them to request this valuable information or “white paper” and receive it via e-mail, or by downloading a PDF from your website. This will make them feel as if they are receiving something of value. This is a great way to engage them and begin to lead them through the steps of the buyer’s cycle.
The information packet is just one idea to start potential clients on the path of the buyer’s cycle. Identify specific methods you use in your business to walk a prospect through the sales process and create a system that takes them from that “know, like, and trust” to buying, referrals and repeat business. Remodelers don’t have any difficulty thinking of systems for building a project, but they rarely develop one for marketing. Now, to reinvent your company, deliver this “white paper,” in a unique way or one that is different than your competition:
Not only have you provided excellent content, but you are positioning yourself as an expert in the subject in your potential clients eyes and networked with a tradesman, or a strategic partner in your field. Do you think if it’s valuable this potential customer will forward the link to friends? It’s easy to use a Flip Minot camera to take a video and upload it to YouTube or burn it to a DVD. Emotion and passion drive successful people in our business and it is that same emotion and passion that creates something that is unique and different. Find creative ways like this to deliver your message to prospects.
