The Full Noise
Blenhiem Graphic Design and Website Designers
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BNI groups (Business Networking International) are tight networks of local businesses that work together to grow each others businesses. Here’s how can you take their secret and use it to grow your business?
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After listening to my Media episode yesterday I decided I could talk more about using social media to get your message to your market.
I discuss the main benefits and pitfalls of Social media.
When I first talk to a client about their marketing, I have a few questions I always ask. The first is “What do you want to achieve from your marketing?”, almost without fail I get the same response: More customers!
While it is the obvious response, it isn’t strictly the truth. When they ask for more customers, most businesses really want something else… More money! The assumption that more customers result in more money doesn’t always hold true.
The problem with targeting more customers with your marketing, is that each customer costs money in the form of paperwork and staff time for customer service. Marketing to new potential customers is also expensive.
Rather than aiming for more customers, how about focusing on creating more great customers. A great customer is a heavy user of your products or services, they buy more, more often. The never complain about your prices, and best of all they brag about your business to their friends and colleagues.
A great customer is valuable to your business from a profit perspective, but they also give you the best type of marketing you can get – word of mouth testimonials. In short, they send you referrals!
There are two things to keep in mind about great customers. Firstly, you already have some great customers. and secondly, your great customers think differently about your products or services than your regular customers.
In a cafe example: To a regular customer, the cafe might be a place for an occasional pick-me-up, or a casual place to meet a client out of the office. To a great customer, the cafe is their breakfast bar.
Get talking to the the great customers you already have. Find out their thoughts on your products, what is it about them that make them great customers, and why they choose you over your competitors.
Once you have an understanding of who your best customers are, and WHY they are great customers. You can use the information to:
Rather than aiming to get just more customers, your ultimate goal should be to get more GREAT customers.
What do you offer to your best customers to let them know how much you value them? Do they know they are a VIP to your business?
It is easy for us all to believe that creativity is some sort of magic talent, or a gift given to the lucky few at birth. I always considered creativity was the domain of artists and musicians, and was in awe of those who could pick up a pencil and draw spectacular illustrations seemingly effortlessly.
Artists are talented but the very best still practice for years and years to refine their natural creative abilities. Creativity in business is at the heart of innovation, whether it be for marketing campaigns or new and ground breaking products. But unlike natural born talent, it can be learned and turned into a creative system.
I’m not talking about blatant plagiarism of ideas from your nearest or most successful competitor, (though it obviously happens). A much more effective and creative approach is to study other industries or market sectors. Preferably an industry entirely different from your own… If you sell bicycles, compare your business to an ice cream truck. If you’re an accountant, compare yourself to a book store.
Think about their business model? How do they market their products? How do they serve their customers? What other systems do they have? Challenge yourself to bring one idea from another industry into your business!
With this tip in mind, get into the habit of carrying a notebook with you everywhere. When you see great ideas or are inspired by something others are doing, write it down and review it later.
Another great resource for finding new ideas to re purpose for your business is Springwise.com, which gathers great innovative business ideas from around the world. Also check out their sister site trendwatching.com for upcoming consumer trends.
Your most important customers are the ones you already have. Businesses often spend thousands of dollars per year marketing and advertising to attract new customers while ignoring, or taking for granted their current customers.
Existing customers have already chosen to do business with you, the chances they will do again is high if you look after them.
Sending your current customers something as simple as a thank you card could be the best value marketing you could do. Of course you could also give them a small gift or make them a VIP offer to encourage them back to see you.
I know one business that sends one handwritten thank you card to a different customer everyday. It is a habit that pays dividends.
To employ this idea, you need to know who your customers are. Do you have a list of customer contacts? If you don’t, you should – start building one today!
I had the privilege of being introduced to them as they were on the hunt for a Graphic Designer to improve on their previous wedding photography brochure.
This couple blew me away with their work. Still a young company, Khan Photography are steadily gaining a good reputation that is well deserved. Nazeef and Rachael carefully refine each image to achieve the best possible results for their clients. Their attention to detail in this way is what I think makes them so good at what they do.
Nazeef and Rachael were keen to see the size of the existing brochure and it’s content reduced, so to create an attractive DLE card to replace it, became the brief.
What we came up with was a clean and simple design, which showcased their stunning work. The change in direction was subtle enough to support their current branding but offered a smart, fresh and contemporary result.
If you or anyone you know is getting married soon, we would defineately recomend checking out more of Khan Photography’s beautiful images. You won’t be disappointed!
