How do you find new customers?
In an ideal world, they land in your lap through a referral, stumble on you through a Web search or respond to the sign in front of your store.
If only discovering new business was that easy. Unfortunately, the search for new customers is a constant challenge and an exercise most businesses can never stop, unless they’re wildly successful, which is why advertising is still alive and well.
According to a recent survey by Bredin Business Information, the most popular online marketing tool used by small businesses to discover new business is Web sites (85.8 per cent).
This is followed by e-mail (74.3 per cent) and search marketing (74 per cent). Of the 18 sources listed by Bredin, most had shown increased use over the previous year.
What was interesting about the Bredin survey, however, was that the effectiveness of these online channels declined on a year-over-year basis.
Why? According to Bredin, it likely has to do with the experience of the people using these tools, rather than the tools’ effectiveness.
“There is a fair amount of learning that has to happen for each small-business owner to know how to use and how to measure online marketing tactics,” Stu Richards, chief executive officer of Bredin Business Information, told eMarketer, a digital marketing consultancy.
“In many cases, businesses are struggling, and there’s an opportunity to educate SMBs.”
Another survey by Constant Contact of U.S. small businesses about overall marketing tactics ranked e-mail marketing as the most effective, followed by websites, telephone, public relations and event marketing.
From a personal perspective, I’ve found that one of the most effective marketing techniques is meeting people.
The opportunity to have a face-to-face conversation in which you can learn about a potential client’s needs and how you could help can be a great way drum up new business.
The dynamics of a potential relationship take on a different texture if you can create a personal connection – something that is difficult, if not impossible, to make happen online.
I also find public speaking a good way to discover business. If you are able to present well, it provides people with confidence about the subject matter you’re talking about.
Of course, every small business has its own approach to marketing. The key is to be active: If you not reaching out to consumers, you’re dead in the water because the competition is not standing still.
Special to The Globe and Mail
Mark Evans is a principal with ME Consulting, a content and social media strategic and tactical consultancy that creates and delivers ‘stories’ for companies looking to capture the attention of customers, bloggers, the media, business partners, employees and investors. Mark has worked with three start-ups – Blanketware, b5Media and PlanetEye – so he understands how they operate and what they need to do to be successful. He was a technology reporter for more than a decade with The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg News and the Financial Post. Mark is also one of the co-organizers of the mesh, meshUniversity and meshmarketing conferences.
