Marketing For the majority of people Marketing is usually taken care of by the marketing department, and to a lot of people is regarded as a “black art”. Working for yourself means that you will be the marketing department as well as sales, admin, technical, finance, fleet, strategy etc. So how are you going to market yourself? Here are some helpful tips.

The two major challenges that we all face starting in business are “who are my customers likely to be?” and deciding “what are you going to be or sell?”. These two questions are clearly interrelated and you need to think about them both. This is one of the areas where a good brain storming session with a friend, mentor or business partner can help. It is easy to think you can be all things to all men because you used to do it - but don't forget you no longer have a team behind you - it is just you! It took Peter 2 years before he had a clear vision of what he was trying to sell. Thinking he could recreate the previous model that had worked in the Corporate organisation - the transition from being part of a large team where I could call on 100's of people to being a one man band a big challenge. Dave had an easier transition as a result of his strategy and consulting experience although it took him a year of planning before committing himself to it.

The things that work for us are ....

Use networking to build contacts - but remember that it takes 6 months plus to start to get business from networking. Do not expect all those promises made by people you used to work with to be fulfilled. Be very choosy about those you invest contact time in. Remember the promises you made to others when they moved on! As for relying on friends and family.........

Use different groups or individuals to test different ideas - don't try to put all your ideas to one person - they may become just as confused as you are.

Take your time on branding – a logo or graphic image is not essential but it is important that whatever you choose supports your proposition. If you don’t have a clear picture – wait until you do. In the first couple of years Peter decided not to have a business card - always telling people that he had just run out - getting their card and following them up. Dave on the other hand already had a view of what he was going to be aiming at and sorted his brand image out before detailing his plan. Once his plan was in place he then started on the detail in the marketing collateral.

A website may be very important on the other hand it may be a distraction from other more important communication channels for your target customers. If it is important to your success then:

• it should be aimed at supporting your personal sales campaigns. A good site is your 24 hour salesman.
• it should be kept up to date with the latest information about your company, service or product. An out of date or poor quality website will do more damage than good.

You will always need printed material but remember people have little time to read waffle. Short, benefit oriented and to the point is key.

Marketing collateral is something that you will need eventually whether it is flyers to put through doors, cards to put in newsagents’ windows, posters, leaflets to leave behind you or glossy brochures. Once again forget your glossy corporate brochures and cut your cloth to suit the expectations of your customers and your revenue expectations. If you have a web site make sure they are complementary not conflicting. If you advertise be careful to be sure the advert will reach your target audience and not attract too many time wasters. Remember your time is now your money rather than the company's and once you've used an hour you won't get it back.

Sponsor targeted events where you can get to know people - the idea is for people to see your name around and start to trust you.

Maybe you should try to publish focused articles in literature that is relevant to your target customers.

Get involved in organising and managing professional organisations and local groups - e.g. Chamber of Commerce, IoD committee, professional Institutes etc.. Becoming at host at events is one of the best ways to get to know everyone and for people to get to know you.

Depending on your target audience you may need to offer to become an event speaker in order to get through the door of groups that you want to talk to. Many key decision makers in organisations only attend very focused events and you will only get to these people by being a speaker - but of course you need to know your subject and be able to present well to do this.

Support and sponsor local charities and community organisations in exchanging for getting your name around.

Marketing is like networking - it is an ongoing process of trying different things and it is mainly about listening. Most important is not to forget that at all times it is about supporting the personal contacts you have and are building - it is your professionalism and integrity that customers are buying in addition to the benefits they expect you to deliver. These efforts should be targeted at building trust, it doesn’t matter how strong your proposition is if you do not create confidence in you in potential customers. Selling has always been about people - people buy from people they trust. It takes a long time to build trust and it can be destroyed in a few moments. Some people define marketing as creating the environment where people will buy from you without needing to sell. Think about your own experience of this with finding a decorator or plumber or some other domestic tradesman. Often you chose them because of their reputation with others. You are now trying to operate in a world of the same sort of decision making whatever your product or service.

Remember if you don’t know clearly and concisely what your proposition really is and how it will benefit your customers you won’t be able to persuade potential clients to buy it.

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