Marketing Your Services with 6 Effective Strategies

Let’s face it, getting your company or organization in front of your ideal customers takes time and effort. Getting a plan together on reaching and targeting your buyers may be easier than you think. Marketing your services is important in getting noticed by customers.

I recently read an amazing book that helped me reach a 40% increase in my revenue. Get Clients Now has helped me identify a rhythm of marketing and promoting my services. This basic guided outline takes you through different types of effective marketing strategies.

From MOST Effective to LEAST Effective Marketing Strategies:

1. Direct Contact & Follow Up
2. Networking & Referral Building
3. Public Speaking
4. Writing & Publicity
5. Promotional Events
6. Advertising

Direct Contact & Follow Up

This involves making a person-to-person connection with a prospective client through email, phone call, in person, fax, text message, etc. This tactic can include cold calling, warm calling, and lunch/coffee with potential clients. I touch on a few steps that I’ve done personally to land some of my first clients as well as some of my most lucrative clients.

Have a strategy created of when and how frequent you will followup with potential clients. Keep them thinking about you and they’ll remember you when their project is ready to move forward.

Networking & Referral Building

Meeting people face to face at networking events is just a drop in the bucket for this strategy. Building a list of contacts that you can tap into for referrals, clients, resources, ideas, or information should be the goal of networking.

My strategy for networking events is to just go and meet people. I rarely use a sales pitch or push a product. 99% of the time, what I can do for clients comes up organically in a conversation. When was the last time you enjoyed talking to someone who was just trying to sell you something……..?

Public Speaking

Positioning yourself as an expert to your potential clients can start from public speaking. You’ll be more memorable and noticeable than if you were in the crowd. Find already established groups and participate on any level. Whether it be an M.C., sitting on a panel, making a presentation, or just facilitating classes, you will be viewed as the expert more often than not.

Community colleges, local meetup groups, or small events are perfect to start your speaking engagements.

Writing & Publicity

Writing about your expertise can also be a powerful marketing strategy by gaining visibility and credibility among your peers and potential clients. Start small through social media, blogs, or your own website. Reach out to other blogs as guest writers can quickly lead you to more and more opportunities to show that you’re an expert.

My choice of marketing, at the moment, is writing. I have a blog, newsletter, and other publications that I contribute to. I also frequent forums and chat rooms to help position myself as a SharePoint and WordPress expert.

Promotional Events

Creating an event such as a trade show, fundraiser, or a conference can put you in direct contact with potential clients and bring the audience to YOU. This also holds true with participating in an existing event by owning/renting a booth. Cost is very real on both end at with this strategy: participating in an event or creating an event can be a very expensive cost per head experience.

Advertising Your Services

Paid advertisements can help fill your pipeline with paying customers, but they don’t necessarily build trust in your product. Treat advertising as a way to increase your visibility and awareness to potential customers. The trust and eventual sale will come with them interacting with you directly.

What works and what doesn’t work?

One strategy that I personally use is to pick 3 marketing strategies that I am comfortable doing and be consistent with them.

• Direct Contact & Follow Up
  • Every business card I take, I take because it serves a purpose. I don’t collect cards just because.
  • I followup within a week of meeting or talking to someone by email that funnels the conversation back to my portfolio if it’s appropriate
• Networking & Referral Building
  • I am part of the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce
  • I participate in 2 other business to a business networking group
  • I am active in various online communities
• Writing & Publicity
  • I have my blog, this newsletter, and various other publications I participate in.
  • All of my publications funnel back to my portfolio site, increases Search Engine (Google, Bing, and Yahoo) ranking, puts a fingerprint on the web

Keeping those sales pipeline filled is the goal of marketing. Pick three marketing strategies that work for you and stick with it for about a month or two. But you’ve got to put in the work to see the results. If you’re not getting the goals that you’ve set for yourself either adjust the goals or adjust your strategies. No one said you couldn’t choose a different strategy.

I was able to gain 40% more clients’ revenue through various marketing strategies that worked for me. Marketing your services may be different than mine but you will notice an increase in engagement. Your potential customers won’t know what you have to offer if you don’t position yourself in their crosshairs. Marketing your services with various strategies greatly increase ROI and turn around.

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