Starting a business is exciting and hard at the same time! It’s being able to finally become your own boss and work in the style you wish while solving people’s problems. However, the hardest part of starting a business that have its challenges. One of the hardest parts is developing your marketing plan and strategy and finnally getting your first clients. In this post, my goal is to dive into some of the methods of marketing that are available to find your first clients along with some other methods which can be considered long term.
In order to begin tackling this giant elephant, you need to have certain concepts identified in your marketing and business plan. These questions are:
- What is the purpose of your business? What problem are you trying to solve?
- How are you solving it?
- Who are you solving it for? Describe your ideal customer. Who are they and where do they typically hang out?
If you can answer these simple questions, you’ve pretty much nailed the biggest piece of business planning. Now, it is possible to look at the various types of marketing and how to put them to use to get your first clients.
Types of Marketing
There are two basic categories of marketing that come into play when promoting your business, digital marketing and traditional offline. Today, we tend to think more online than the traditional methods that were always used previously. However, it does make sense to use a combination of the two as people still are influenced by both avenues.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing consists of any media which is delivered via the Internet. It can be asyncronys or syncronous. What does this mean? Syncronys is when there is a live conversation taking place between the host and the guest. This happens primarily in live stream and webinar situations where the guest can ask questions directly and an answer is received immediately. However, most of our marketing is done asyncronously in that we put out a message and get answers at a later date.
There are a few types of digital marketing methods available. These are the most common:
- Website or blog
- Social Media (ie. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, etc.)
- Digital Advertising (ie. Google Ads, Bing Ads, etc.)
Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing makes use of means that do not use the Internet, but rather legacy ways including:
- Newspaper ads or articles
- Radio
- TV
- Printed materials (signs, posters, flyers, business cards, etc.)
Picking the Right Medium
So, with all the choices of mediums, it is can difficult to decide where to start. Everyone seems to think of digital marketing first with certain ideas at front of mind. But, we can’t afford not to look at the simple methods and consder some of them in our initial strategy. Here are a few ideas that can help get you started:
- Business Cards: Give them out to people you know and meet
- Email: Start with the people you have in your contact list. Let them know you’re in business.
- Postal mail: Send notes, flyers, cards, etc. to people you know.
- Social Media: Use any of the platforms you currently use and post to your current followers
Once you’ve conquered these methods, my next challenge would be to look to the next levels including:
- Build a website
- Start an Email list – This is crucial!
- Start dedicaded Social Media pages for your business and invite people to Like and Follow them.
- Start a Podcast
- Give presentations (for free and paid)
- Write a book
- Create a Course
Conclusion
With all this great information said, I challenge you to take action and dive into the list of those you currently know and let them know you’re in business and what you can do to help them. Remember to ask them to tell others that they know as well. This is your starting point, regardless of the number of ways that people are telling you from every angle of the universe. You can go those ways, but in the beginning, start simple and just begin.
The key is to think big and start small, but slowly add the extra ingredients into your masterpiece overtime and you’ll see your new business grow.
Need Assistance?
If you’ve been considering starting a business or started one, but lost in the marketing process, book a discovery session today so we can get your business moving forward and in the right direction.
