Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

I just started my business and I have no idea where to start. How can I get my name out there?

Nearly all of my coaching clients tell me their business comes from word-of-mouth marketing or through referrals from satisfied clients and colleagues. Referral marketing is what we all strive for in business. Do well, and let others sing your praises. If only it were that easy. Wouldn’t it be great to have even more referrals coming your way? Just think of never having to make an outbound cold call, or work endlessly at designing your next winning marketing piece? More often than not, we simply need to create a plan of action to simply generate endless referrals. Here are a few things to think about when wanting to increase the number of referrals you receive.

1. Do the Best Job Possible for Your Client

There’s no replacement for a job well done. You know it, and your client knows it. Do well and be remembered for your professionalism, attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines and positive attitude. This is Step #1 to getting a referral from a client. It’s impossible any other way than to do a terrific job that will make your client want to sing your praise to all around her.

2. Work at Building the Relationship with Your Customer

If you have a solid relationship with your client, you’ve got a head start at asking for and receiving referrals. Take the time to get to know your client, ask her about her family, the graduate class she’s taking, etc. By taking interest in your client on a personal level, you’ll begin to build the trust, respect and credibility necessary for her to put her reputation on the line for you.

3. Under Promise and Over Deliver Consistently

When in doubt, give yourself an extra couple of days to complete a project by telling your client that they should receive the final plans/proposal/project in one week – knowing that you can comfortably complete it in four days. Imagine their surprise when they receive the final project on their desk two or three days prior to the deadline you gave them. Do this enough times and they wouldn’t dream of working with anyone else – more likely, they’ll sing your praises for a job well done and done well within their timeframe.

4. Create a List of Your Best Referral Sources

Write down anyone who has ever referred you business. Don’t limit yourself to current or past clients. A vendor, colleague, or someone from your professional association might be a top referral source to you. Be sure you keep track of all of their contact information including phone number, e-mail address, web site, etc. You’ll want to keep in touch with these folks on a regular basis.

5. Determine Who Your Clients Friends Are Within and Outside of Their Companies

Write down the people that your clients associate with inside and outside of their company. Do you know who their friends are? If not, start taking notice and begin to expand this database of prospects. Particularly, if you focus on a niche market, you’ll be surprised how incestuous it is and how knowing one key person can help to open the doors to many other prospects.

You’re now on your way to generating more potential leads and clients. Good luck.

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How do I know how much to budget for marketing?

Try not to worry about the budget, but to think strategically about how to reach your target market. I work with small business owners who want to grow their business and increase revenues. I also work with corporations, like HP, who are targeting that market as well. That’s it. It’s not about quantity of prospects – it’s about quality of prospects. Unless you’re trying to sell to the masses (a much bigger undertaking I have to say), the number of prospects are limited. That’s a good thing in terms of following up with them and marketing your product or service to this group.

I had a coaching client tell me recently that she had sent out a beautiful full-color newsletter to more than 3000 companies regarding the training program she offers new hires. She didn’t get one response. No kidding.

Here’s why.

She was an unknown to this list and it takes at least 6 – 7 times before a prospect can identify who you are and what you’re trying to sell to them. Had she had 100 people on her list, she could have mailed to them multiple times and followed up with a personal phone call, e-mail, handwritten note, etc. Would she have stood out that way – absolutely. Would it have cost her less time, energy, effort and money – right again!

Think in terms of refining your list of prospects that can provide the greatest access to your end-user. In my case, Fortune 500 companies targeting the small business market are my high-level prospects. They afford me the opportunity to speak directly to the individuals I want to address – small business owners. If you’re trying to get a product to market – targeting super retailers or independent boutiques might be your primary market. It’s a lot easier to establish relationships with these folks than the general public.

Sometimes, working on a shoestring brings greater creativity to the process and in the end, is a more strategic approach!

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