• 44Building host relationships
• 45Using joint ventures
• 46Working ‘word of mouth’
• 47Educating customers
• 48Using events and talks to sell your business
• 49Driving business to your website
• 50Networking for the right reasons
• 51Telemarketing for leads
• 52Getting people to pay attention to your window displays
• 53Designing adverts that sell
• 54Writing a good sales letter
• 55Using compelling direct mail
• 56Developing special offers and incentives

85
inspiring ways
to market
your small business

44 Building host relationships

What is a host relationship?

Host beneficiary relationships are based on harnessing the existing goodwill and strong relationships that all sorts of other businesses have already established with prime prospects for your own product or service. If you form a relationship with a business that is not in direct competition with you but sells to the same people as you, potentially you could both help each other.

A business you might form a host relationship with will tend to be selling something that goes before, goes along with or follows the product or service you would sell to these people.

Why are host relationships valuable?

Forming host relationships is a very easy way to get access to potential new customers who could be in the market for your products and services. Because your host already has a relationship with their customers they can provide a solid and trusted foundation for you to start from. If a host is willing to recommend your services to their customers it provides you with free marketing.

Your challenge

Your challenge is to open your mind to all the possible relationships you could form and be creative in your thinking. Ask yourself who in your business area already sells to the customers you want to reach or serve. Make a list. Now think about why someone should offer you a host. To develop strong host relationships you will need to sell yourself and your service in a way that makes it attractive. Hosts are only going to agree to recommend your services when they feel confident that you will deliver to a high standard.

What makes a host relationship successful?

A host relationship works best when there is no competition and both services naturally complement each other. If by recommending your service your host adds value to their own customer relationship it will have served two important purposes.

HOW TO SET UP HOST RELATIONSHIPS – SPECIAL RESPONSE CHECKLIST

• Make a list of all the things your customers might buy that are associated with the reason they use your services. For example if you sell insurance what might your customers have bought beforehand that would prompt the need for the insurance – car, house, a business? A coffee distribution company which deals with the catering industry might add food or other beverage suppliers to their list.
• Make a list of all the contacts you already have with people who provide some of the services associated with your own. Consider how you could build a host relationship with these businesses.
• What could you offer that would give them a chance to experience your service themselves? Once they have tested you out themselves, with a good experience behind them, they are more likely to have confidence in you. You could offer a ‘free’ experience of your service for a period of time to enable the evaluation of its potential value to their customers. You could also offer a selection of customer testimonials.
• Choose a selection to make contact with. You could call, email or write in the first instance.
• Set up meetings that allow you to explore the best way of working together.
• Discuss ways in which your service could add value to their existing customer service.
• Ask what they would need to know about your service to feel confident enough to recommend you.
• Provide what they need to start the process and agree a periodic review for feedback.

How to make the most of your host relationships

There are many ways in which you could work your host relationships to mutual advantage. One way might be that your host agrees to give your card and a verbal recommendation each time they see an opportunity with one of their customers. Or they may agree to include a recommendation in their e-newsletter. You may swap website links. You may get included in their pre- or post-sales communication.

You may develop a financial incentive to encourage your host to look out for opportunities to pass business your way, or you may simply agree to help each other without financial recompense. Either way your arrangements need to suit both parties and be ultimately orientated to make it easy and attractive for customers to buy.

45 Using joint ventures

What is a joint venture?

A joint venture is when you are given permission to use other people’s customers to get new business. Joint venture marketing is the process of marketing to customers of complementary businesses. Joint venture means that you get the cooperation of the businesses that acquired the customers in the first place and that the relationships you create with your partners is win-win. The relationship you set up might involve your joint partner endorsing your product or service through their own customer database in return for the same or an agreed commission on sales made. This can also be known as affiliate marketing. Many web-based businesses use this method to increase sales.

Joint venture marketing can be carried out by email, direct mail, sales letter or newsletter.

Why are joint ventures valuable to you?

Many businesses share common customers. These common customers all have the potential to spend money on related products and services. With so much choice available to customers, any short-cuts to a reliable and trusted supplier endorsed by someone you already do business with will be appreciated.

Joint venture marketing is your short cut to getting your product or service in front of more people in a fraction of the time it would take you to create the same customer list yourself. By using joint partners you will end up marketing to a very warm and highly targeted market.

Your challenge

Your challenge will be to open your mind to all the possible complementary joint partners available to you, then find and educate them to the potential benefits of joint ventures. You will need to understand their interests, possible objections and be able to offer an incentive that is attractive enough to motivate them to take part.

What makes a joint venture successful?

• When it is win-win and both parties are comfortable and trust the arrangements.
• When it is properly planned and professionally implemented.
• When you can give your joint partner a simple method of letting their customers know about your products and services. Provide a sales letter or copy for an email as this will make it easy for your joint partner. The easier it is, the more likely they are to do it.
• When you can let your joint partners know how much business their list generated and reward them for it.
• When it is risk-free for the joint venture partner.
• When you offer something to the joint partner or your joint partner’s customers that is perceived as valuable. Some joint partners will see that being able to offer their customers something extra, getting them a free consultation or a discounted introduction will rub off on their own business relationship.

HOW TO SET UP JOINT VENTURES – SPECIAL RESPONSE CHECKLIST

• Think about how this could potentially work for your business.
• Make a list of potential complementary or related products or services.
• Make a list of all the businesses that sell those products and services in your target geographical areas.
• Get the names of the business owners.
• Send a letter introducing yourself outlining your idea and proposing a meeting to explore further. You can ask in your letter whether they could be interested in making extra money with no extra effort.
• Make a follow-up call to set up the appointment.
• At the meeting explore their interests and discuss a win-win case for a joint venture.

How to use this information

Joint ventures are an excellent way for small business owners to leverage the goodwill each has established with their individual customer bases. Open your mind and make the most of the opportunities that exist for this. It may not be something that you have ever thought of doing before. Try it out.

46 Working ‘word of mouth’

What is word of mouth?

Word of mouth is what happens when people tell people about you. Word of mouth is happening when potential customers hear about your service on the grapevine. They may hear about you from someone who has never even used your service.

Word of mouth is a way of getting business when people talk positively about you and your service. These people may be satisfied customers of yours or they may be people who have simply heard about others’ satisfaction with your product or service.

Word of mouth advertising happens when you get known through the conversations people have with each other. This may result in referrals or recommendation. Many people get most or all of their new business through word of mouth advertising.

I had a conversation recently with a friend who wants to plan her financial future and needed some advice. She asked if I knew anybody she could talk to. I gave two people a very good word of mouth advert.

Why is it important?

Word of mouth is free. It is important because as it builds up over time it can provide you with an ongoing supply of new business without you having to do anything at all.

Your challenge

Word travels fast when you do something extraordinarily good for someone. It also travels just as fast when something goes wrong and the customer complains. Your challenge will be to continually provide a level of service high enough to ‘wow’ your existing customers and build a level of trust and rapport that prompts those who use you both to remember and recommend you to others.

What makes word of mouth successful?

• When people feel motivated to talk about you to others.
• When they like and trust you and the work you do.
• When you have done a really good job for someone.
• When you provide an extra special service or go the extra mile.
• When you provide your customers with leads or referrals.
• When you keep in touch with those you have done business with, ensuring that they remember the experience they had.
• When you make a connection with the people you do business with and they really feel that you care.

How to get word of mouth working for you

Be the best

All you really have to do is concentrate on doing the absolute best you can for the customers you have. You need to put into practice all of the profile building and communication techniques outlined in later chapters of this book. To make word of mouth work you need to be worth talking about and you must be memorable both as a person and as a business.

The longer you have been in business providing an excellent service, the more likely it is that word of mouth advertising will be working for you.

Promote your success stories

If you are a new business you can encourage word of mouth by promoting the success stories you have. Publishing customers’ testimonials in your marketing materials can help to build conviction in your offering. By talking about the problems you have solved for your customers and the results they have achieved you give potential customers a chance to recognise themselves or the people they know.

When that happens you are more likely to get word of mouth business.

Show appreciation

When you get a piece of word of mouth business you can encourage more by showing appreciation for it. A gift, thank you or invitation to one of your special social events will reinforce the goodwill you have created and motivate more.

Reciprocation increases momentum

Show what word of mouth means to you by reciprocating the gesture. Spread the word about your customers’ businesses and you will see the word of mouth momentum increasing.

IS WORD OF MOUTH WORKING AS WELL AS IT CAN FOR YOU? – SPECIAL RESPONSE CHECKLIST

• How much word of mouth business do you get?
• How do you measure word of mouth business?
• How do you say thank you and encourage more from the people who have generated it for you?
• What could you do to promote your success stories and spread the word?
• What could you do to accelerate your word of mouth advertising?

How to use this information

Word of mouth is the best natural form of advertising there is. Focus your attention on what you can do to stimulate its impact on your business and you will see your business grow.

47 Educating customers

What is customer education?

Customer education is all about giving your customers an opportunity to learn more about your products or services. The more people understand about the value they could receive, the more likely they are to buy. The degree to which a potential customer needs to appreciate the context within which the product or service they are purchasing exists will vary. Offering customer education can be a very good way of getting those potential customers to put their hands up and say ‘I’m interested in what you have to offer’. For some businesses, education can be the first step in the sales process. Many buyers spend some time researching for information before they are ready to choose a supplier.

Why is it important?

People may willingly pay more for most products or services as long as they understand and appreciate the value they’re receiving. Not knowing, not being aware or not understanding can slow up the buying process.

Sometimes an idea or information provided by a business can stimulate a desire to buy.

Many of your potential clients certainly do not know as much about your service as you do and it may be that they don’t fully understand and appreciate

• how it could benefit them
• how it works
• the opportunities that exist
• how you can help avoid problems
• how to maximise the benefits once they have used your service
• the full level of service they can expect from you.

The more people understand and appreciate how a product or service can benefit or improve their life or their business, the more they’ll want it and the more closely connected they’ll become to you if you help them to find this out.

Your challenge

Your challenge will be to make yourself aware of what a customer needs to know. You will also need to choose the best and most effective method of delivering that information.

How can you educate your customers?

There are a number of ways in which you can do this:

• Write articles
• Give demonstrations
• Run talks
• Offer training or awareness days
• Offer samples
• Write a book
• Free consultations
• Frequently asked questions on your website or brochure
• Information CD
• Tele-seminars or teleconferences
• Online demonstrations or presentations
• Exhibitions

If your customer education is presented in a relevant and interesting way it will attract more people.

CUSTOMER EDUCATION – SPECIAL RESPONSE CHECKLIST

• Howdoyou currently educate your customers?
• What don’t yourcustomers know about you?
• What do you think they need to know in order to buy?
• Find out from your customers by asking what questions they have.
• Consider the best way to deliver that information to them.
• Be creative in your approaches.
• Consider how much detail they need.
• Monitor how well whatever you choose to do works.
• When you provide education, create a system that allows you to capture customers’ details. Keep a record of that customer information.
• Make sure that you create a follow up continued education process.

How to use this information

Use this information to make a plan to improve the education of your customers. You may find more ideas about how you can do this as you read the sections on newsletters, events, conferences, article writing and exhibiting at conferences.

48 Using events and talks to sell your business

What are talks and events?

A talk is when you speak about a subject of interest to your target audience at either your own or a host’s event. An event is an occasion that either you or a host creates to connect with target customers and offer an opportunity to build relationships and for those customers to learn more about your products and services in the process. Some examples of an event might be speed networking, a conference, a party, wine tasting, an exhibition, dinner with a guest speaker, a debate, a teleconference or a demonstration.

Why are they important?

Special events can give you great distinction and connection with your customers and they can be a lot of fun! You offer your prospects or customers a chance to come to you to learn and be stimulated.

A special event gives you the opportunity to attract potential customers through giving them something of value. This needs to be something that ultimately connects with you and your product or service. You could share some up-to-date research data, provoke a discussion, demonstrate a product or service. If this is run well, it will provoke interest in you and your service without you having to sell it.

Your challenge

Getting people to attend your event will be your biggest challenge. They will only come if they can see clearly what is in it for them. You need to do your research and find out what people ultimately could be interested in. What are the current hot topics, what are the major problems your target customer group faces? When would they be most likely to come – is a breakfast or evening event better? What about trying out some new technology and using teleconference facilities – that way your audience reach is likely to be wider.

What makes an event or talk successful?

• The right target people attend.
• They enjoy it and get personal value out of it.
• You get positive feedback.
• Attendees want to make contact with you for business as a direct consequence of the impact the event or talk had on then.
• You are in a position to follow up the leads generated by the event.
• You generate a positive return on your investment of time and resource.

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING AN EVENT OR TALK – SPECIAL RESPONSE CHECKLIST

Events

• What have you done in the past that has worked?
• What have you yourself attended that has been good?
• How could you use an event to promote your services?
• Who currently runs events that attract the kind of audience you want to reach?
• What would your target audience be interested in?
• The timing – when, where and how long? Make sure that it doesn’t clash with public or school holidays. Consider when your target audience are most likely to want to attend that event. Bad timing can put people off.

Talks

• What could you talk about that might ultimately result in some interest in an element of your business?
• Research your initial ideas with your target audience and the people who are in regular contact with them.
• The title of the talk – will it attract the attention of your audience?
• Your description of the potential value the talk offers.

How to create opportunities for talks – special response checklist

• Networking events – are there any networking events that your target customer attends on a regular basis that you could talk at?
• Breakfast meetings – are there any business groups that meet throughout the month?
• Chamber of commerce – could you speak at one of their events?
• Round table.
• Conferences or trade shows.
• Business shows.
• Could you run yourown event in association with Business Link who offer free event marketing in return for an opportunity to promote Business Link at your event?

How to make the most of your talks and events

To make the most of your talk or event – whether you run it yourself or speak at a host’s event – you will need to make sure that you get the attendees’ contact details for follow-through marketing. An event feedback card is not only a useful way for you to measure what was appreciated by your attendees, but also gives an opportunity to ask for opt-in to the next step. That step might be agreement to receive ongoing information and ideas from your organisation which might be to have a free consultation or receive a free report. If you can offer something at the event that encourages attendees to take the next step in your sales process it will make it much easier for you to convert.