If you want to get consistent results from your marketing, you need to stay visible to clients and prospects. But, how do you do that? It's not going to do you a whole lot of good if you produce a bunch of great marketing stuff and nobody ever reads it. And, it's pretty hard to keep the ball rolling if someone hears about you once and then you disappear after that. Lots of people are "out there" getting that all important first visibility through networking, doing presentations, handing out business cards, and even getting a visit to the web site. But too often, there's no way to maintain the contact. Call It A Need To Be Loved. You see, for my business, I don't want my clients and prospects to forget me. When they have a marketing issue to be addressed, I hope they think of me first. When someone in their network of contacts has a marketing challenge, I hope they think of me first again. The best way I've found to maintain this kind of visibility is with a "stay in-touch" strategy. A stay in-touch strategy is designed to keep you top of mind with clients and potential prospects. Keep in touch with your clients and prospects over time, and you'll build more mutually beneficial relationships. And, the key to making this work - ignored by virtually all small businesses - is to focus on providing information of value. Simply calling every four to six weeks just to "check in" and "see how things are going" won't get it done. Yes, you'll stay visible, but you might just be a visible pest. It's Easier Than You Think. The good news is that this strategy can be a whole lot easier than you think. Let me tell you why I believe this to be so. In the fall of 2004, I was given the opportunity to submit some articles to an incredible resource called eZine Articles.com. I went ahead and submitted nine things I had already written that I thought would make good content for the web site's purpose. But to be honest, I sort of submitted them and forgot about it. Then about two and half weeks later, I received an email from a career, business and life coach in Ohio (I'm in Kansas City). She had picked up one of my articles and created a link for it on her web site. She also asked me to take a look at her submitted articles and consider reciprocating. So that's what I did. Bingo, instant article that I believe provides subscribers to my own eZine some valuable information to put to use in their businesses. What's My Point? If you've been thinking about starting a newsletter, or an eZine, or would like to have valuable articles to share with clients and prospects in order to stay visible - you can get started today! You don't necessarily have to be the creator of all that valuable information to stay top of mind with your clients, prospects, referral sources, and alliance partners. You can start to generate that continued visibility you desire by becoming "the provider of information." (c) - Kevin Dervin, KPD Marketing |
