Small Biz Marketing News Sample

Vol 3, Issue 28 - Increase your sales with this extremely effective (and affordable) marketing strategy

Quote: "The purpose of a business is to create a customer."
~Peter F. Drucker

But, how do you create a customer?

Obviously that's a big question, and whole books have been written about the subject, so we're not going to get to really answer it in one short newsletter. But, as Peter Drucker says, it's the purpose of your business' existence.

Yet many small business owners don't understand how to go about finding customers, and all too often entrepreneurs figure their idea is good enough that customers will find them.

But it doesn't work that way.

You see, you can't start a business and think people will find you. All that'll do is spell a slow death of your company, with fewer and fewer sales until you can't survive.

You need to actively pursue customers instead. And that's where marketing comes in.

So, over the next few newsletters, we're going to discuss a few marketing ideas so you can create some customers of your own.

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Marketing Idea #1-Networking & referrals

It's been said that 80% of a young company's business comes from referrals. Yet referral marketing is one of the most underutilized marketing tools.

I know most of you are going to say you use networking, and I'm sure you do. Most business owners do. To an extent. But do you have a plan of action for your referral marketing?

By all means, ask friends, family, co-workers and ex-co-workers to refer people they know to your business. Become a member of your local Chamber of Commerce. Join business groups.

But there's one referral area that's usually untapped. That last customer you had. What about her? Have you directly asked her for a referral?

Now, it makes sense to me that before you ask for a referral from your client you need to build a relationship with her. And you need to know she's happy with your work.

That last statement is so important, I'm going to repeat it-you need to KNOW she's happy with your work.

Because if she's not, trust me, she's going to tell everyone she knows. It's a little quirk about human nature. Most of us talk more about service we're not happy about than service we're happy with.

So, here's a few ways to help build a relationship with your client and get her to refer her friend and acquaintances to you.

  1. Handle any complaints quickly and courteously
  2. Write a letter thanking your client for her recent purchase. Because it's so rare to receive a thank you letter from a business, she's going to remember it for a long time.
  3. Ask for her email address because email marketing is so inexpensive
  4. Send a note or email when you have discounts or special offers to maintain contact
  5. Prepare a short survey asking her what parts of your services she was happy with and where you can improve. Ask her to rate your service on a scale from 1 to 5. The survey is how you'll know whether she's satisfied or not.
  6. Give her an incentive to recommend you. Give a gift of free services, a percentage of the sale in cold, hard cash, or maybe a discount on her next order with you.
  7. Give her something free of charge. Sometimes you need to give in order to get. For example, if you find an article that might be of interest to her, send it to her. She'll remember your thoughtfulness and tell her friends about you.

There's lots of ways to build a relationship with your client so that she refers your business to her friends and acquaintances. All it takes is a little imagination and a little time.

The important thing I guess, is that you remember how important referrals are to your small business. And that you have some sort of plan to get those referrals.

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If you need help building a referral system, I'm just a phone call or email away. You can reach me at 306-373-1459 or info@detailssbs.com.

Thanks for reading,

Eve

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