Are You Clear About Your Unique Value Proposition?
Without revenue a small business is just a hobby. So, how does a typical small business go about getting clients and revenue? More importantly, how can a small business establish a process that continually creates new clients and helps grow revenue? The answer to this question proves elusive for many entrepreneurs.
Typical small business marketing follows a path of diminishing returns. Initially work usually comes from previous employers or by finding it through the owner’s networks. While this can work well for a while, usually a year or so, it rarely generates work for more than the business owner and doesn’t help growth. In many cases it results in quite a bit of work and actually prevents the business owner from doing much work on their business.
Rather than finding yourself overworked and then suddenly finding your work stream ending, it’s best to have a system in place that helps you continuously attract new clients and grow. Any system you implement needs to have a few characteristics: it should require a small time investment, provide measurable results, and be cost efficient.
You have the ability to produce great results for your clients, which is why I believe you can produce great results for yourself and your business if you have the right tools and processes.
Even a decade ago, options to market inexpensively were rare. The TV / Newspaper interruption marketing model was still alive and well, the Internet was still changing every week and was a challenge for anybody who wasn’t technically oriented.
Now, while the pace of innovation in the Internet is still staggering, a few static characteristics have developed that play into a small business owner’s hands. Social media is huge and has become a part of everyday life for a large percentage of the population. This saturation and frequency of use make digital marketing a great option for marketing and building relationships with your prospects and clients.
While digital marketing is a great option, it is a confusing milieu of platforms, services, tools, etc. Rather than chasing about trying to do a bit of everything, it’s best to create a system and measure your results. When you get comfortable, you can add a bit more or expand your reach with your system.
I build my “digital marketing ecosystems” around my blog. It’s where I post content that is useful for my readers and create engagement. I add a few of the major social media sites in, but the first two you need to add are Facebook and Twitter. If you use video, YouTube is a must. If you or your tribe is very visual, add Pinterest. Add new components as your content meshes with it and if your ideal clients use the service.
It’s also critical that you become engaged with your marketplace and not just blast content that is self-serving or random. Remember, you’re building a relationship and you need to interact to build it effectively.
Digital marketing is the best way for smaller businesses to create interaction with your prospects and convert them into customers. Creating a system that allows you to measure results, can be done with a small time investment, and moves you closer to your goals is foundational to your success.
Michael Nelson
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