If you are looking for new clients, today I will share some simple steps you need to follow in your marketing. When you follow them, you will be more effective and successful in marketing your business. They will help you build authority, credibility, develop lasting relationships with your clients and get you, new clients.
We are living in a very completive world and to be truly successful you need to find a way to differentiate yourself from others. You need to be different, not like everyone else. But what do most people do? They do the same thing as everyone else. If you are a Photographer, you are not the same as the photographer next to you. If you’re looking for new clients, you need to be the expert in your field.
So, the first thing to help you to differentiate yourself is to express your niche of expertise.
Step 1. Define your niche of expertise
Your niche is something you have a passion for, your experiences, your skills, the service you specialise in offering to your target market/ideal client.
Narrowing your niche immediately sets you apart from the mass of competitors, gives you a clear focus for your marketing and advertising and provides a gateway for your prospects to enter your world.
Think of the General Practitioner and the Dermatologist. Although you know you are going to pay a premium fee to see the specialist, you know you are going to be able to get the answer that you are looking for, for the first time, rather than getting a couple of guesses or answers from a GP.
We need to treat our business the same way, because people are always willing to pay extra for expertise in order to solve their problem and that what is marketing in business all about. It’s being able to identify the problem for the specific group of people and providing the service or product to solve that problem
Step 2. Define your target market & ideal client
The second important thing in marketing if you’re looking for new clients is to define your target market.
A target market is a specific group of people you work with, e.g. women in the City, creative female freelancers or brides to be. It is the audience you will specialise in servicing with your skills.
We know that you can’t be truly successful in your business and marketing efforts until you know precisely who your potential clients are and you understand them well.
Handpick your prospects that you would most like to work with. Yes, theoretically, you can work with everyone, but no business, particularly a small one can be all things to all people. So, before you decide on your target market, think of people you resonate with. Get clear who you want to serve, who is your ideal client. (I call these your 5-star clients). The clearer you are who you want to serve and how you want to serve them, the more successful your business will be.
Also, it’s easier to grow a business when you focus on the specific market. It’s much better to be able to find one group of people, instead of trying to offer a bunch of different services to a bunch of different people; you can’t be everything to all people.
Many business owners are afraid to limit the target market because they think they can help everyone. You don’t want to take this approach to your marketing because when you are marketing to everyone, then your ideal client will not hear you. If you’re looking for new clients, you need to speak their specific language.
So, make sure you’re clear who you speaking to, who is your audience and make sure that is a hungry audience.
Let me illustrate this with two examples: a specialist wedding photographer versus a portrait photographer who does a bit of everything.
Think: which one of them are you more likely to call to help on your wedding day?
- Maria, “Portrait Photographer“. “I do portrait graduation, family memories, event photography, retirement photos, your baby first year, weddings. Call me to discuss your requirements”.
- Jennifer, “Capture the magic of your wedding day”. “I will be by your side for every step of your special day. My camera will capture the essence of your wedding day, being with you from 8.00 am to midnight. Call me to tell me how I can help you create an album of amazing memories to be enjoyed for many years to come”
See? When you understand people, they see you as the go-to person and you become a niche expert. When you stop being a generalist, you get known as the specialist and your marketing and sales are so much easier!
Step 3. Problem, Benefits and Results
We know that you can’t be truly successful in your business and marketing efforts until you know precisely who your potential clients are and understand them well.
When you’ve decided on your niche and target market, you need to decide:
- what problem you can solve for your clients,
- how will they benefit
- and which results they can expect to get.
You need to know their pains, their wants and aspirations and to understand their fears and frustrations.
Take some time to jot down the most urgent problems and challenges that are causing them pain. What are they concerned about? In this list, you will find the language that you can use in your marketing.
At the heart of your marketing, there needs to be something that makes your prospects sit up and think: ‘This is for me!’. Explain how your services fix and sort out their problems.
Share the results they can expect and the outcomes they are willing to pay for.
Step 4. Create a gift / opt-in page
Creating a relevant, irresistible free offer is the best way to build a list of raving fans. It’s all about attracting your ideal prospects by giving them something of value: get them to ‘opt-in’ to receive information from you.
Visitors rarely purchase your services the first time they visit your site. Mainly, this happens because they don’t know who you are or your potential value to them. Don’t let them become a one-time visitor: you must develop an irresistible way for your visitors to give you their contact details.
Once they have given you their email address and permission to initiate a professional relationship, market to them time and time again. This builds your credibility, builds trust. It drives people to your website and It generates leads. (Check the ICO website to fully understand what does GDPR allow you to do).
STEP 5. Create an opt-in gift copy
Create an eye-catching title and compelling bullet points telling why visitors would want your gift. Once you have their email details, you can subsequently keep the conversation going with them. Educate them and move them through your sales pipeline to achieve a sale.
Step 6. Follow up email series
Write a simple e-mail series to educate and inform your leads about you and your work. So, they will get a deeper understanding of how you can help them.
If you’re looking for new clients, in a nutshell, remember:
You can’t be successful in your business and marketing efforts until you know precisely who your potential clients are and have a clear marketing message. This is a foundation on which you can build your entire business.
Would you like to get more clients? Book now HERE your free 30 minutes consultation that might just completely change your life!
