Lots of people have been burned and many other people have heard news reports and stories about fraud, dishonesty, or just plain bad service. That’s one of the reasons it’s more important than ever to convey to your prospective customers and clients that you’re an ethical, respected, and service-oriented business person.
Case in point: A couple years ago, I tried out a new dentist based on a full-page ad in the yellow pages and the credentials listed on his web site. To make a long story short: After a couple visits, I decided I was extremely dissatisfied with every aspect of my experience as a patient of his, so I asked his office staff to forward my records to a different dentist that was recommended to me. The upshot is that about a year later, I saw a newspaper article about this first dentist saying that he was sentenced to five years of felony probation after pleading guilty to bilking dozens of patients out of almost 100 grand!Another case in point: The state Attorney General’s office is now building a case against a contractor with whom I had some major service-related problems. Apparently, he has created a long trail of disgruntled customers over the years and it’s catching up to him. For the time being, however, his display ads in the local Penny Saver newspaper keep luring new, unsuspecting customers in.
The purpose of these two stories is this: Lots of people have been burned and many other people have heard news reports and stories about fraud, dishonesty, or just plain bad service. That’s one of the reasons it’s more important than ever to convey to your prospective customers and clients that you’re an ethical, respected, and service-oriented business person.
It’s All in How You CommunicateSimilar to an integrated marketing strategy, one should pursue a combined approach to portraying themselves as an ethical, customer-centric individual or company. One way is to develop a mission statement, a values statement, and/or a vision statement that you can include, in some form, on your web site, brochures, press releases, newsletters, and other modes of communication. Those statements should convey a strong emphasis on client satisfaction and customer service.
Developing and maintaining a stellar reputation for excellent quality and value-added service is the foundation for gaining people’s trust and generating valuable word-of-mouth advertising. The more positive ways the public hears about you, the more receptive they’ll generally be to becoming your client, customer, or patient.
What a lot of professionals fail to do – and this is costing them clients and income – is to ask for referrals, especially at the moment when their client is at their optimal level of enthusiasm. Each situation is different, and everyone has to be their own judge of what’s appropriate, but one of the best times to ask for a referral is when a client has just profusely thanked you for the great service you’ve provided. The opposite side of that same coin is to give them a few of your business cards and ask them to give them to friends, co-workers, or family members who might be in the market for your services.
Whether you’re talking about Internet marketing or traditional marketing, the more hooks or nets you have in the water, the greater your catch is going to be.
Positive Thinking and Effective Marketing Go Hand in Hand
Being an entrepreneur and running your own business is an intrinsically risky endeavor. If an expensive marketing campaign falls flat or a major client signs on with the competition, you might find yourself scrambling to make up for the loss. A positive state of mind not only helps you be creative, resourceful, and energized, but it also enhances your ability to anticipate, adapt, and regroup.
Vital Component to Marketing Success: Establishing Credibility
As a salesperson or the owner of a small business, do you consider yourself to be qualified, experienced, and dependable? More importantly, have 95% of your customers had a satisfying experience doing business with you or your company? If your answer is ‘yes’ to all those questions, then your services or products have the potential to be in high demand. The trick is effectively communicating that information to your target market.
Nine Ways to Get Free Publicity and More Clients
While marketing tactics that cost money are a necessary part of almost any strategy, make sure to get the most mileage you can out of techniques that are either free or extremely economical. Remember, even if your marketing budget is tight, there are still plenty of things you can do to increase inquiries, boost referrals, and expand awareness of the unique aspects of your business.
