The Small Business Specialist Community is a competitive landscape! It is true that many of us are leaders in what we do, and openly share our achievements, thoughts, aspirations and best practices, however at the end of the day, we are business people and we all have mortgages to pay, pay for the food we eat, clothes we wear and perhaps have families to take care of.

It is great to be community focused and share information with others, but we need to keep in mind that we are also business people, and in business, you are truly measured at the end of the day on how profitable your business is nothing else matters but profit at the end of the day.

Marketing for many SBSC members is an evil word. This stereotype needs to be squashed right now! I would like to share a teaching that I received earlier this year, and this is true for many of us that run our own businesses. Donald Trump mentions it in his book with Robert Kiyosaki. Business owners need to know how to sell. T. Harv Eker states in his business courses that marketing is the most important area for success in any business. You must understand how to market your business and services in order to grow.

Here are some marketing ideas that I would like to share with you that will not empty your bank account; in fact, these are marketing strategies that I use in my business everyday.

Article Marketing – Writing articles (like this one) immediately positions you as the expert in your field, if you are small business specialist focusing on security, you can write articles based on your area of knowledge. Once you have some articles completed, you can post them on websites like EzineArticles.com that will immediately get traction on the Internet. You will be amazed where your articles end up. Once you start gaining some confidence in your writing, remember it doesn’t have to be perfect, approach your local Chamber of Commerce chapters and other business groups including professional organizations and specialist communities that specialize in your area about publishing your work.

Blogging – Blogging is easy to do, there are many services on the Internet that can get you setup in no time. Wordpress and Blogspot are just a couple of free blogging services that you can use today. Just like article writing, post your thoughts, ideas, strategies and other relevant information on your blog for others to read. When you have a blog you are the immediate subject expert. Tip: If you are looking at attracting potential business, keep your blog business focused, not technically focused.

Podcasting – Podcasting is the next evolution of blogging. The major difference with podcasting over blogging is that you are creating an audio or video piece to share your information. The nice thing with podcasting is now you can invite other subject matter experts onto your show and really position yourself as the overall expert. Podcasting takes time to do properly and there are many free services available to you.

Networking and Speaking – Simply put, get out and network. Volunteer to speak at your local Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau or other business events that attract your target market. When you are open to speak to a group, once again you position yourself as the expert. This approach to marketing our business as worked time after time. One big tip to this is to ensure you collect information about the people you are speaking to, so you can follow up with them. Many SBSCs fail here simply because they don’t follow up. You will hear follow up many times in this article; I cannot stress the importance of follow up enough. Tip: Be a teacher, not a speaker!

Direct Mail – Direct Mail is still an inexpensive method to market your business, however, your direct mail needs to be targeted to the business you want to attract. When you decide what your next direct mail will be, ensure that it is not overly technical and it hits the pain points that the prospective client maybe wanting to fix. One tip when it comes to a direct mail, you need to measure this effectively and also ensure you don’t overdo it. Why you may ask? You can send out 1000 direct mail pieces and you may get 100 new clients from it and if you are one person, how are you going to manage this? You need to plan. Also, just don’t send out a direct mail piece and pray for a return, it is critically important that you follow up on all your mail outs with a phone call follow up, this is where you get the meetings. Your focus needs to be on getting a meeting not on selling something.
 
eNewsletters – There is nothing better to keep in touch with your business partners, clients and those you network with than an electronic newsletter. Not a newsletter where you are selling something all the time. The best approach is to setup your eNewsletter as an educational tool, something to educate your prospective clients, existing clients and everyone who receives your network. Sign up with a tool like “Constant Contact” to manage your newsletter. A newsletter application that allows you to track which articles interest your readers, then use the click through stats to follow up with additional information.

Leverage the Press – Getting press time is a huge task, however, when you are successful is a wonderful way to position your business as the leader in your field. Press coverage can include newspaper, magazines, radio talk shows or television. Contact all the people in the press you can to tell them a story. Remember, the press wants story ideas all the time, not press releases or any that sounds like you are selling something.

Tell Your Client’s Stories – Nothing is more powerful to prospective clients that hearing about success stories you have had with your existing client base. This can be done with Win Wires or Client Success Stories that you do yourself or through a public relations firm. Many vendors have PR firms that they work with, find out who they are and send them everything you do. Your clients will also love the press coverage that they get from this as well.

Marketing takes time; you need to be persistent in your efforts. Rome wasn’t built in a day, chances that you will hit on your first effort are pretty slim. A prospective client normally takes six to ten touches before they buy from you. This is why you need many different approaches in your marketing. If it is an article, eNewsletter, networking event, direct mail, email or phone call, you need to remain persistent with your marketing.

Also, seek the help of others, especially if you are a technical person. Marketing requires creative touch. Creativity requires thinking from the other side of the brain, your creative side and not your analytical side. There are a number of great marketing coaches out there to help you, find one to help you or seek the help of your peers. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on “how to market” your SBSC business.

Marketing is a lot of try it and improve it. Don’t get discouraged, keep at it, results will come in time.

By: Stuart Crawford