Marketing and Customer Acquisition - Part 15: Step by Step Into Independence in the Network
 |
| Photo by Arlington Research on Unsplash |
While employees usually don't have to worry about this (unless they work in sales) and “only” have to do their work, the self-employed have a much harder time.
In addition to their technical know-how and the fun of the actual work, self-employed people have to become active themselves and attract customers.
It's not that easy at all and as a start-up, you are often faced with the question of how best to market your own business and win your first customers.
Therefore, today I would like to give you tips on marketing and customer acquisition.
<< Part 14 - Prices and Offers
>> Part 16 - Contracts and Law
[Overview of the article series " Step by step into independence on the Internet "]
If You Don't Advertise, You Will Die!
 |
| Marketing and Customer Acquisition - Part 15: Step by Step Into Independence in the Network |
In addition to the unspeakable leap "Independent means self and constant" was the sentence "Who does not advertise, dies!" certainly one of the statements that I heard and internalized at the very beginning of my self-employment.
And in fact, it is not enough to have a great offer for customers to break the door.
Unfortunately, many think this way and believe that advertising is just manipulation and that only bad products need advertising. But this is not the case.
If you look at our everyday world, you can see how much information, messages, audiovisual stimuli, etc., shower us every day.
If you want to attract potential customers in such a world, you have to market yourself and your business.
Marketing involves various instruments. I wrote a lot about prices and assortment in the previous part. Today it's about advertising/marketing.
Active Marketing
I see possible marketing methods in 2 categories.
On the one hand, there is active marketing. By this, I mean advertising measures that are used in a targeted and active manner. To do this, you have to “get up”, so to speak, and stay with it, as they don't run by themselves.
I would like to introduce 5 such measures for active customer acquisition in the following:
- Advertisements, Flyers, and Co.
Already at the first point, one can argue about whether this is active or passive. I would rather assign newspaper advertisements, posters, and flyers to the active measures.
Of course, I know companies that have been placing the same advertisement for years and paying by direct debit. That is more of a passive one.
However, a good, up-to-date, and focused ad is a very active story and you have to deal with it.
In the beginning, I also made the mistake of simply running a general ad for a longer time. Unfortunately, this only cost money but didn't bring any customers.
But those who deal with their target group, understand their wishes and problems, and integrate a special offer, will also be successful with print ads.
The situation is similar with flyers, which you also have to actively distribute (unless you use a service for this). - Cold Calling
Some swear by cold calling and others find it no longer appropriate. I belong to the second group.
But it has to be said that in the B2B area, in particular, it is still common practice to contact potential customers without prior contact.
In contrast to warm calling, in which there was already a connection in some form before, with cold calling, you fall with the door in the house.
For those who like to make phone calls and, for example, want to work with direct mail, this active method is certainly a good opportunity to win new customers.
But here too you should be well prepared and be able to offer the customer something particularly attractive.
For me, this kind of handle cleaning is out. - Networking
In my experience, networking is active and very promising. Establishing contact is very important because this way you not only learn new know-how but also open many doors to a certain extent.
And these contacts can lead to new customers, among other things.
How your network is up to you and of course depends on the industry and target group.
While some at regular tables or card parties are on the road, others cavort on XING and Co. on the internet and make new contacts.
It is important that you stay active and on the ball here.
And the own relatives and acquaintances should also be used by start-ups to find customers. - Referral
Marketing Referral marketing seems to be a passive marketing method. After all, the previous customers are responsible for turning other companies into customers (or at least arousing interest) through word of mouth.
That's not entirely wrong either. However, those who rely solely on customers to do this will usually have less success with it.
Therefore you should actively help, collect customer testimonials and ask (or ask) customers to tell other companies if they are satisfied.
If you help, referral marketing can become a very powerful marketing weapon.
I now get a large number of my customers through recommendation marketing. - Trade Fairs
This marketing method is a classic and despite the Internet and online advertising, trade fairs still play an important role today.
And not only for the craftsman who presents his services but also for self-employed people on the Internet who, for example, can achieve success in customer acquisition at regional exhibitions.
Here, too, you must go where the target group is. A trade fair is of course not the ideal platform for all self-employed people.
The big advantage lies in the personal conversation and that the visitors usually go to a trade fair with specific needs and wishes.
However, this is often an expensive proposition and you have to think twice about using this method.
Passive Marketing
We come to my second category of marketing and customer acquisition measures.
Here I have listed 5 more passive methods. Passive does not mean that these measures do not do any work. Passive here is more related to the fact that you do not approach a potential customer specifically or personally.
Instead, these measures are designed for the long term and aim to ensure that customers come across them when they are looking for a specific service or product. So they are indirect measures.
Of course, these 5 measures are not conclusive either but are intended to represent examples.
- References
References are a very strong marketing tool, as they not only present your know-how but also ensure trust.
Unfortunately, I started without references at the time, but today I would recommend careful preparation for self-employment, including references.
These references are presented in brochures or on the website and are available when a potential customer is interested. - Website
Without a website, many companies are already in a fix today. The younger generation in particular first searches the web, even if the purchase or service is then processed offline.
I don't want to write so much here about a good company website or appropriate content, that's enough material for my article series.
It should just be clear to one that building the page is not enough. A company website should be looked after and maintained regularly.
Only those who stay on the ball and develop their online reputation will be successful. - Blog
It looks the same with a company blog. Here, however, the focus is even more on personal presentation and the transfer of know-how.
If you publish pure advertising phrases on your blog, you will not get very far. But if you allow a look into the sewing box and offer real added value, you can look forward to many new inquiries from potential customers.
I don't even want to write about this anymore and prefer to refer to a planned series of articles. - Car Advertising
A specific example of passive marketing is certainly car advertising.
Here you place an advertisement once and this then simply remains and will normally bring more or less many new customers over the years.
It sure isn't a killer marketing tool, but when done well it can do its part in building the customer base. - Press Release
Not to forget the press work. This, too, is more of a passive method of customer acquisition, since you don't address potential customers directly, but rather hope that journalists will make your offer known.
A press page and press releases are still very important tools today.
Optimal Customer Acquisition
After the examples, a few words for successful marketing.
As already written above, I have also had negative experiences with marketing.
My first tip would therefore be to carefully analyze beforehand which channels and which instruments can best be used to reach your target group.
Therefore, one should possibly test suitable methods first before investing a lot of money in them in the long term.
The 80/20 method has proven itself in this context, and you can achieve a lot with relatively little effort. If a marketing measure in the tests is worthwhile, then you can invest even more effort and optimize the marketing measures.
Likewise, one should never proceed according to the “Fire and Forget” method, but regularly check the success of the measures and take countermeasures if necessary.
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Acquiring Customers
- No USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is offered. So there is no unique selling point compared to the competition.
- No customer benefit is placed in the foreground in the advertising measures. The customer benefit should always be pointed out and not primarily technical details etc.
- You always drive the same track and do not offer an attractive and, for example, temporary offer.
- Many self-employed people do not have a long-term marketing strategy, but always put out an advertisement or something similar. The repetition and constant appearance often play a major role in marketing success.
- In addition, many self-employed people are not permanently on the lookout for customer acquisition, but only when the going gets tough and the orders fail to materialize.
Associations
A few more words about associations. These can be used in a variety of ways to acquire customers.
Many associations offer market data on your industry. In addition, as a member of an association, you often have access to the list of other members, industry studies, surveys, etc.
For example, at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, you can get addresses of companies in a certain branch relatively cheaply.
Associations are also a good way of increasing your reputation and expert status. Through lectures, active offices, or the like. Just mentioning that you are in associations X and Y can give potential customers a leap of faith.
Likewise, technical publications in association gazettes offer a very good opportunity to present your know-how. Advertising can also be used in association publications with relatively little wastage.
Networking with other association members is of course also quite possible.
Associations are certainly not suitable for every self-employed person, but you should at least check the possibility. In individual cases, you can take some advantages with you for customer acquisition.
Conclusion
Anyone who wants to be successful as a self-employed person cannot rely solely on their services and products. Advertising and marketing are very important and should by no means be neglected.
So It Goes on
Part 16 of the article series Step by Step into Self-Employment on the Net is about contracts and law.
Post a Comment