Starting a business is hard, there are many aspects that you need to work out and among them is marketing, which in itself is a difficult task. Here’s the thing though, marketing is at the core of every business, if you cant reach your potential clients then you won’t have any work.
It’s important to first understand who you are marketing too and what message you wish to get across. If you jump online and start reading articles about marketing or watch some YouTube videos you’ll find a lot of opinions regarding where you should market your business and some may even tell you things like email is dead, or snail mail is dead. Well, they aren’t. It may not be the ideal marketing media for their specific client base, but it doesn’t mean it’s a bad marketing medium. It depends on who your potential clients are, as well as execution.
Medium
If your business is geared toward an older generation, you’re likely not going to find them on TikTok, and while some may be on Instagram, the majority probably aren’t. This is one of those scenarios where you may be better off putting an ad on a local magazine or using email or even regular mail. Depending on who your audience or potential clients are, the medium will change, it may also change from time to time depending on what is trending at the moment. A good marketing plan will likely include more than one medium.
Execution
I just mentioned using the postal service for marketing, and before you scoff at the idea as dumb I want to use this example to talk about execution. You probably get the mail and find a stack of ads bundled together, and like most of us wonder why companies keep sending those out if they just end up in the trash. Well, if you decide to add to the pile, you’ll also be adding to the bulky trash bin. But what if you weren’t sending out another paper ad, what if you send out a fat envelope with some samples of your product, pictures of your services from around that person’s neighborhood and a personalized letter introducing yourself and your business. Then you’ll find you have a different response. In an era where everything is digital, getting a package in the mail has once again become something people look forward to and enjoy.
Search
Regardless of your audience, there is one thing every business has in common. All of them can benefit from a good Google listing. Most people here in the US at least use google to look for things. The great thing about a Google audience is that when they look for your service, they are probably already needing it. Your just need to show them you are the right fit.
Funnel
A good marketing plan should include a funnel. A funnel much like the name implies will be setup with a large input section, this is where you’ll get all the leads come in, and a small exit filtering out bad leads and displaying only those qualified by you. There are a few ways to create one, and which works best for you only you can answer, but I’ll go into an example here. Funnels aren’t a new concept, I remember calling companies in the past to do A/C repairs, and the person answering the phone wasn’t a technician and couldn’t answer all my questions, but did have a list of questions for me and if I wasn’t a good fir for them, for example I have a mini split A/C system and they don’t service those, the person would let me know without forwarding me to a tech or scheduling department.
You can create such funnels online as well. One easy way is being up front and displaying your prices, people who can’t afford or refuse to pay those prices will just move on and not take your time. Another way is including a list of questions on your quoting / contact form with logic that turns away people looking for services you don’t do. If you are a graphic designer and don’t do logos for example you may include a drop down with a list of services you offer for your lead to select from and a note stating you only do those types of designs listed in the drop down. The point is that only those qualified leads will get through your funnel and you won’t waste time on bad leads.
Recommendation
Marketing is complicated, and I’ve touched only the basics of what to look for, excluding the obvious which you’ve already probably heard hundreds of times like “Start with friends and family”. I would highly recommend you read or get the audible for The 1-page marketing plan by Allan Dib. This book will explain in detail the difference between marketing and branding, and will give you a template on which you can easily plan your marketing strategy.