What’s Your Marketing Strategy?

You’re a professional service provider. You’re good at what you do. If you weren’t, you probably wouldn’t stay in business very long. But there’s more to building a successful practice or business than just doing a good job providing a needed service.

You have to be able to attract plenty of people who want and need the results they can get from working with you … and who are willing and able to pay for them. And to do that … to reach the greatest number of the right people for the least amount of money … you need to have a comprehensive and well conceived marketing strategy and a well executed marketing plan.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT WE SEE MORE OFTEN THAN NOT WHEN IT COMES TO THE MARKETING STRATEGY OF SERVICE PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE RESULTS THEY’RE GETTING?

SPAGHETTI MARKETING

They throw a bunch of unrelated marketing ideas against the wall and see what sticks. Try a little of this, a little of that. Whatever the next shiny thing is, they try it … or they chase after the latest idea offered by a friend. They’re busy “marketing,” but what they’re really busy doing is running around trying various different things that usually don’t produce much in the way of results for the time, energy, and money spent.

They lack a cohesive, well-thought-out marketing strategy that makes sense for the target market they’re trying to reach, one that pulls in the greatest number of their ideal clients with the greatest precision and the least amount of wasted resources.

Now, they may have a document labeled “marketing strategy” they produced as part of their business plan to get funding for their enterprise, but it’s sitting on a shelf collecting dust. They need a living, breathing plan they’re working on every day.

SO, WHAT MAKES ANY MARKETING STRATEGY FOR SERVICE PROFESSIONALS A GOOD ONE? HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT ATTRACTING YOUR “PEEPS” TO YOU AND ULTIMATELY CONVERTING THEM INTO PAYING CLIENTS OR PATIENTS?

It may NOT be what you think … if you listen to popular opinion.

Here’s what most people spend a lot of their time doing, and it doesn’t work very well … or at all. They work on their website. They produce a variety of printed materials. They’re active on social media. They write blog posts and send out newsletters. They may try advertising.

None of those things are necessarily bad things to do. Some are essential. And they all have their place. But … and this is the critical thing to understand … by themselves, they’re very unlikely to help you fill a practice and keep it full.

Why? Because something’s missing! None of these channels of communication give the prospective client a full blown, up-close-and-personal experience of you. It’s hard for them to get to know who you really are and what you can do for them when they don’t have a direct experience of you. A digital experience doesn’t cut it.

THE ABILITY TO CONNECT MEANINGFULLY ONLINE AND THROUGH PRINTED MATERIALS IS IMPORTANT AND A GREAT ADDITION TO YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS, BUT THESE METHODS AREN’T SUFFICIENT IN MOST CASES TO BRING IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE YOU’RE LOOKING FOR.

The reality is that people do business with people they like and trust … service providers they can relate to and feel comfortable with … people they sense will produce results for them. And it’s hard to create that primal sense of confidence if they’re not interacting with you face-to-face, looking you in the eye, feeling your handshake, hearing the confidence in your voice. That’s how you build the trust and confidence in people that needs to be there in order for them to feel comfortable moving forward toward a “buying decision.”

The bottom line? Your marketing strategy should be focused on what we call high touch connections vs. low touch. We’re talking face-to-face, in-person interactions.

To learn more about what qualifies as high touch and the three very best marketing tools you have at your disposal, please check out this short video and this page where we explore the “marketing triangle” and graph out what your marketing strategy should look like and where you should be spending the bulk of your time, energy, and resources.

 

“Denise’s marketing system filled in all the gaps in my marketing … gaps that had been present since I started my business in 2003!  Now, I finally feel confident and comfortable with a system that feels right to me.

I have consistently won over new clients with my complimentary consultation that I learned in your program, and they have no hesitation in choosing one of my new packages at the prices I’m offering.  It’s a win-win for both of us!

Denise, your marketing approach has made a difference in my life and supported my desire to serve my clients!”

Deb Zechini

PERSONAL ORGANIZER, CARY, NC