Marketing, advertising, and public relations are one of the necessary pieces to just about any businesses. Unfortunately, marketing doesn’t always come easily for many and it can be tough to take the focus off what we feel we do best in running our businesses and get out there and pound the pavement for clients and customers. But, in order to grow a business, we need to put some energy and effort into marketing and find ways to identify and pursue new markets for our products or services.
There are several ways to go about finding new markets. You can start with your existing clients or customers and ask for referrals. Some find that encouraging their current customers to make referrals, “bring a friend” or introduce their friends or family to your business to be a productive way to identify new prospects. Of course, some individuals just don’t feel comfortable doing this and feel that they are leaving their friends and family members vulnerable. You might try a 2 for 1 coupon or provide materials that customers can share with their friends in order to avoid making them feel like they are “turning over” their friends to you.
You can also amplify your marketing efforts by doing mailings, more traditional advertising such as print, radio and television–or even considering doing some public advertising in areas you haven’t explored–bus signs, posters, billboards, etc. These efforts may help you to introduce your business to new markets. It is possible to purchase rather specific mailing lists for mailings and you can target your marketing efforts by demographic–age, income level, family status, etc.
Finally, partnerships and collaborations can be incredibly fruitful ways to grow your exposure. If you know other businesses that are in a similar or complimentary field, you may be able to put together collaborative marketing projects where you each have access to each other’s current customer and client base. This way you can share data, information and the expense of marketing and you’ll likely both benefit from the growth and exposure.
For a business to remain vibrant, a certain amount of energy needs to be spent in finding new markets and identifying new clients and customers. While this may not be your first choice for business-related activities, it is incredibly important and can pay off in revenue.