Don't hide your (marketing) light under a (modesty) bushel!
Very often those who’ve achieved great things go quietly unnoticed. Doubly so when British reticence and modesty gets in the way. Now modesty is all very admirable, but unfortunately this won't help bring clients and customers to your business.
I frequently come across this scenario when I begin working with with new companies. When I ask them to tell me more about their business I'm often surprised at their achievements, particularly when these are nowhere to be seen on their websites or in their business marketing materials...
Examples include a fitness trainer who works with celebrities; a company that had been involved in one of the world’s largest solar installations; and a historic renovation company that had taken down, moved and rebuilt an entire 16th century house (we sorted that by creating a video for their website)
I was once taken on by a company whose MD hated the very word "marketing". He only brought me in because a rival with a lesser offering had marketed themselves so well that it was taking away customers. Effectively not even his own clients knew how very good his company was…
I also once sat in a builder’s house helping with marketing when a new neighbour knocked on the door to apologise for all the noise that was about to happen that week whilst he got builders in. No, he didn’t know that his own neighbour was a builder with an excellent track record…
So this is what you need to do:
- Brainstorm your strengths and achievements and include them in your marketing material. If this makes you squirm I know a very good copywriter that will do this for you – um that would be me then…
- Be proactive about gathering your testimonials and displaying them. Here's how.
- Let your friends, neighbours and contacts know what you do – local ads, newspaper articles, marketing postcards and e-newsletters do this pretty cheaply and effectively.
- Be a little more ready to share your successes and testimonials when networking and social networking.
- Ask your happy clients to put recommendations on LinkedIn and Google My Business.
- Ask your clients to ask why they chose you. When I did this exercise with one client a particular response became a whole marketing campaign. His happy client said he'd chosen him because "Others promise, you deliver" Wow - just wow!
Gentle reader, none of this is bragging - it’s simply marketing.