When it comes to attracting new customers to your consultancy business, much of the advice out there is focused on start ups rather than long established businesses. But finding new customers in this current downturn is pretty tricky for everyone, whether you are new to the game or long established.
With this in mind I’ve put some tips together to attract customers to established consultancy businesses.
Tip #1: Start with your existing customers
The focus is often on attracting new customers, but what about your existing customers. It is much easier to market to existing customers than to find new customers. You could try a mail shot to existing customers with a loyalty special offer or a free consultancy telephone call.
Tip #2: Attract referrals from existing customers
Why not motivate your existing customers to refer new customers. There could be some kind of reward such as a discount. However, the best way for attracting referrals from customers is to be remarkable – not just good. Think of ways of providing remarkable features in your service that compel customers to tell others. This is the basis for viral marketing. However, try and keep it cool and not too gimmicky.
Tip #3: Improve your market message and stand out from the crowd
How do you differentiate your service? This is absolutely key. Your chances of attracting new customers will be so much better if you have a strong USP (Unique Selling Proposition). That way, you’re not just another consulting company.
I find the best way to develop a USP is to think of your perfect customer where your offer is perfectly matched to their requirement. Not just the consulting but the whole service including: pre-sales, guarantees and any follow up.
What was it that was perfect, maybe even follow up with the customer and get their opinion. Then try and encapsulate this perfect service into a snappy sentence that covers the overarching benefit and why it is different to other consulting companies!
Remember Domino pizzas were just a local pizza take away until they discovered their USP:
“Hot pizzas in 30 minutes or your money back!”
Once you have captured your USP, then print it on the back of your business cards and put it in your advertising. That way you’ll attract similar perfect customers.
Tip #4: Get free advertising and an avalanche of referrals
Your business is not just a conulting company but a supplier of solutions to your customers. When people buy a drill bit, it’s not the drill that they are looking for but the HOLE!
Apply this to your service and try to work out the solutions that your customers are looking for. Then write editorial type articles that address these solutions and any issues. If you keep it objective, editorial and genuinely useful to readers, then trade journals and magazines will want to include your articles within their publications.
Finally, include in the resource box of the article a statement that describes your area of expertise, your contact details and offer a free guide to readers who wish to follow up with you.
This way you will get excellent well qualified leads.
Tip #5: Start a Newsletter
It is an excellent way of having a dialogue with all your customers simultaneously. I’m a big fan of producing a regular newsletter or email. With my customers, many were not aware of the other services that we performed. My newsletter now let’s me keep them all up to date.
Tip #6: Internet marketing
The internet has revolutionised marketing for small businesses. Make sure that you have a strong web site that properly positions your business and it’s unique proposition. Make sure that there is a sign-up process where you can catch subscriber contact details. Then drive masses of traffic to your page using:
- Search engine optimisation
- Pay per click advertising (such as google ads)
- JV links on other relevant partner web sites
- Entries in forums
- Articles on web portals
(See my blog post 7 Steps to Create Your Own Web Based Lead Generation System).
I hope these tips help.
However, one technique that I haven’t advocated is cold calling – I hate cold calling! It is very time consuming, demoralising and probably the most ineffective form of marketing that I have experienced. I much prefer positioning where you get your prospects to come to you. That way you have the upper hand and are much more able to negotiate a good price.
Tags: Attracting New Customers, Existing Customers, Internet marketing, Start Ups, Unique Selling Proposition
Leave A Reply (No comments So Far)
No comments yet