Ten years ago, who would guess that social media would offer business owners the potential to grow and expand their clientele so vastly, but in reality, it is becoming more and more popular the use social media, as a sales strategy, to attract new clients and retain the current ones.
If you have done your evaluation, as I explain in the “Three Irrefutable Rules of Sales Success” and you are convinced the use of social media is in completely attachment with your product and service profile, then you may want to explore this avenue. So let’s review the first strategy of the four strategies to get more clients and win in this competitor world.
1st) Social Media – There are many companies specialized on social media marketing for small business. They can offer their services for an amount of $300 to $800 per month. If you choose this strategy, they will start by doing a social media and online audit to assess your business current position on the internet, then they will spend 3 to 6 months with you testing customers hits in two or three different social media platforms (probably on the ones they believe will be more suitable for your business). Finally, at the end of the test period, they will do another audit to tell you which platform you should concentrate marketing efforts and money on.
It is an easy and low cost strategy that can be very effective for some business, but, on the other hand, what if none of the available social media platforms is suitable to market your business? Will the comparison results of the first and second audits reflect the same increase/loss in sales revenue?
In fact, if you are, for example, a small brokerage selling expensive products e.g. luxury cars, boats, or aircraft, then the social media strategy may likely not reflect the same increase in sales. Thus, if you face this challenge, you may want to reduce your budget for social media and invest in some of the next three strategies.
2nd) Radio Advertising – You may be surprised with the results and also that a 30 seconds ad can cost $30 to $250, depending on the time and radio station you choose. If your research indicates that it can be effect for your business, why don’t you draft a pitch and ask one of your friends who has a powerful voice to record the script you drafted? It’s easy like that. Also – some radio stations, may even offer 2 for 1 promotion. So, it can be a good idea to try to negotiate the better deal.
3rd) YouTube – Nowadays, more and more people relay on YouTube for product and services reviews, and also to learn new skills/processes. That said, if your product or service is one of those kinds that needs demonstration to capture the buyer’s imagination, then you may want to explore this avenue. Get your script drafted and ask a good looking friend to play the actor/actress role on it. Remember – you need to level the video to the values and expectations of your target customer. The good news is that, most of the time, if you own a nice digital camera and master some video editing software e.g. the Windows Movie Maker, then you probably can make a video that will meet or exceed the expectations of your clients.
4th) Partnerships – As a business owner or operator, you should not only be looking to expand your professional network, but also to create win-win opportunities with the members in your network. Going back to the example of expensive product described earlier, take a moment right now to reflect the lifestyle of your ideal customer. Then, ask yourself “what do they also buy?”, “where do they eat?”, “what kind of car do they drive?”. Basically, ask yourself “where they spend their money?”. And as the answers come to you, think of the members in your network who also sell products or services to your customers. It’s a simple technique to remember, which with practice will become a habit for you.
Lastly, these are only four strategies of a universe with infinite possibilities and combinations to be used as sales strategy, so let’s start to think as our customers do and explore this vast universe. This is the ultimate strategy to attract more clients and to make your business win big.