Every lead you acquire in your business has a cost. As a small business owner you have 3 main resources with which to invest into attracting a new potential customer.
If a marketing activity does not cost you much financially then usually there will be a time and energy component to it. Even when you gain a referral from an existing customer; it has cost you time, energy and money in servicing the existing customer to give them confidence enough to refer you to other people to you.
Be mindful of the resources that you are investing, and when investing in a lead generation or marketing activity it is important that you are clear on whom you are trying to target. Know your ideal customers and direct your marketing to being where they are. Don’t waste time or money on marketing for the sake of marketing. If the people who are most likely to buy from or hire you won’t see it, don’t bother.
Where cash flow is a bit tight you may wish to leverage more of your time and energy with your marketing and lead generation, but don’t underestimate the value of these (yours or your employees’).
Ensure your efforts are productive and effective and that you are seeing a return in the form of quality leads, referrals and enquires. Ask your new customers “how did you hear about us?” and keep records of their answers. Should you see that one stream is drying up; you know that you can divert those resources to another results-producing avenue.
Remember, just because it’s “what’s done” in the world of marketing and lead acquisition, it doesn’t mean it will work for your business. Take networking for example; simply getting your business card in circulation at business events won’t necessarily have your phone ringing with quality leads. Creating mutually beneficial relationships with key people who work in the same or similar industry should be the focus. So, do your research- who, if you associated with regularly, would have a significant impact on your business? Call them up and introduce yourself.
A 1 on 1 meeting over coffee with the right person is a lot more productive than attending a “can I flog you my product?” networking meeting and these strategic partnerships will have you working closer with your ideal potential customer.
For more lead generation ideas and information on building strategic partnerships, contact PROTRADE United today.
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