Dave goes to market Part 2. A program of asking

And the learning continues...

I like to think of myself as a flexible ol’ Gen-Xer (though not so much in the mornings ;>)

During my second marketing conversation, I was again reminded about the career variety of my generation. Hunter is a trained scientist, musician and marketer. I am a software developer, musician and psychology graduate.

If you multiply those many careers and pursuits across all of our business friends, that’s an enormously diverse set of skills and goodwill – perhaps all you’d ever need.

Preaching to the converted

“So, is finding new customers important?” asked Hunter

“Well of course it is!” I said with near disdain. “New customers = higher turnover = business growth. What’s the alternative?” My gut was telling me I was just about to learn something.

Research indicates that 80% of the future value of your business will come from your existing clients. We’d already covered off in the discovery session that it takes considerable resources to generate ‘cold call’ leads and covert them to customers. There’s two big principals to think about!

Advertising and PR

I was reminded at the time of the principals of media publicity and PR taught to me by my dear partner Jules:

“A story about you, your business and your customers researched and published by the media is credible third party endorsement. Compare that to an advertisement where the only person endorsing you is yourself. Which one is the more powerful message?”

Hunter went one step further by suggesting:

“Not only do your existing clients already ‘know, like and trust’ you - and will likely sing your praises to others, but you can generate leads for them through your network.”

My head was spinning a bit at this point, but I’m pretty sure the conversation wasn’t heading toward a Facebook boosting strategy, or as Hunter puts it:

“Why would you listen to marketing advice from a group wanting to sell you an ad?”

Or…

“Would you really put a vampire in charge of a Blood Bank?”

Point taken!

So where do we go from here?

Customer referrals

Helping people and being easy to deal with is a two way street. Ask your customers for the help they need to make it easy for them to refer your services to others. Ask whether they would like something in exchange. It could be a donation to a community group or a buy-in to one of their services.

Professional referrals

Think about those people and businesses related to your service… In the case of audio books, it’s publishers, graphic designers, printers and of course authors. Ask what sort of ‘easy to use’, helpful content they might like to share with their network – email content, brochures, links to on line check lists, introductory and ‘how to’ videos.

The most important thing is to clearly establish the ‘what it is’ that your customers, business network and affiliates actually want and need. You only benefit by listening, being helpful and providing easy to use services.

Sharing stories

Continuing in the ‘asking’ theme, Hunter made a discovery during client research on LinkedIn. 90% + of respondents indicated they had trouble managing their time. He wrote up these results, shared the article and let one of his clients know - a time management coach. After a flurry of leads, the coach notified Hunter of a speaking gig where a marketing expert would come in handy. Quid pro quo :>)

Let’s hope all this bumps up our ‘Net Promoter Score’!

Until next time…

If you're curious about home recording and narrating, check out our 3 minute video guide or let's start a conversation here.

To learn more about Hunter's marketing and business development programs, have a 'look inside' his eBook: Generation Experience

Want to run your own PR campaign? Check out Jules at: Handle your own PR