It’s never too late to start promoting your business.
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It’s mid-November almost Payday and for most South African businesses, the festive season is just around the corner and your mind is set on your December holiday. I don’t blame you, most of us are on the verge of burnout and we will do everything we can to get a well-deserved break, to relax, spend time with the family, reduce stress, switch our minds off and ease into 2020.
I know that its the end of the year and you are probably planning one of two things:
- The promo, end of year gifts you should send out to your top clients or
- I can’t afford to do anything special as those branded diaries cost more than they are worth… Who uses a diary anyway?
I don’t have much good to say about branded diaries in fact, I find most branded items and corporate gifts to be pretty worthless. Why you ask we sent gifts to all our clients every year and they love them? Well, think about what you do with the gifts you receive… If they are cheap gimmicks you probably fob them off to your kids, if its a whiskey and you are a connoisseur, not just any brand will do. And let’s not talk about branded pens or other types of stationery, I only use the Apple pencil that I got with my iPad, so a R3 pen just won’t cut it.
Now I am not saying that you should look a gift horse in the mouth as the old saying goes. If you receive a corporate gift, be grateful and know that the person giving it to you has spent their hard-earned cash on you.
So the question is,
what do I give to my clients to show appreciation for the past years’ work?
I would answer this question by thinking about what is important to your client. For most, it is about either making a profit or alleviating some kind of problem.
Did you see how it ties back into the value you deliver to your clients?
Funny that…
So what can you do or give to clients that alleviates the problems they have or have had prior to doing business with you?
This depends entirely on what you do. If you are in the IT business, what IT related service or product will make your clients’ lives easier? Maybe a WIFI signal booster, maybe a voucher to a discount on one of your products.
If you are in the landscaping business, what gardening service or product can you give away that enhances how your client feels about their garden? Maybe a free bag of potting soil, maybe seeds for the next season?
If you are a graphic designer, how about designing a free email signature for the festive season?
If you were about to spend money on a corporate gift to show appreciation think about how it will benefit your customer in the long run. There is no doubt that a corporate gift brings smiles and momentary joy but delivering real appreciative value is long-lasting.
Don’t get me wrong or doubt the corporate gifts you may have already bought, deliver those this year and plan to deliver items of value that relate to the needs and wants of your clients.
A word of caution.
Don’t send a half-hearted item, your clients will know. Send them full value or nothing at all.
I know you are thinking that this may cost you more than a R3 pen and that’s the point. Real Value. If there is absolutely nothing within your business that can be delivered as a thank you gift, send them a card of appreciation. Just be careful that if they do not celebrate Christmas for religious reasons that you don’t insult them with a religious message and in the same breath if they are religious don’t only send them an end of year thank you card. In other words, know your clients and send them a greeting card that relates to them and their beliefs.
Marketing Calendar Sample
It is never too late to start promoting your business. Your year of promotion can and should start now and the end of year season is the perfect excuse to be in contact with your clients. If you haven’t done so already, use this season to kick start your marketing calendar. Here is an example of how your marketing calendar may look:
Month: November |
Theme: Black Friday / Winding Down |
Theme Description: Black Friday Promotion / Prepare for your break |
Reason To Contact: Promote Black Friday / Send Clients details of your Dec closing times. |
Month: December |
Theme: Seasons Greetings |
Theme Description: All the best for the Festive Season |
Reason To Contact: Wish clients well and advise of opening times in Jan |
Month: January |
Theme: New Year |
Theme Description: Welcome to 2020 |
Reason To Contact: It’s a big year ahead, let’s start 2020 with a bang |
Month: February |
Theme: The Season of Love / Valentines day |
Theme Description: We know you love your clients/business enough to give it/them the best? |
Reason To Contact: Promote upsell / Cross-sell options |
Month: March |
Theme: It’s your right to have the best. |
Theme Description: Human Rights day extends to the rights of your business. |
Reason To Contact: It is your right to deal with professionals that deliver |
Month: April |
Theme: The Freedom to Do It Your Way |
Theme Description: Freedom Day, Freedom beyond your business. |
Reason To Contact: Run your business like a well-oiled machine and you will find freedom beyond business. |
Keep adding the months below and keep building your marketing calendar.
It may be November, almost the end of the year, in fact depending on when you are watching this video or reading this blog it may be any time of the year, but just remember that it is never too late to market your business.
If you want to start marketing your business or if you want better results from your marketing, be sure to contact me and I will take you through our marketing intervention that will help you generate more leads, close more sales and make more profit.
If we find a fit we will talk about working together and if not, you are welcome to implement all our ideas into your business. I look forward to building your business together.
Book Your Free Marketing Assessment Here
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