The momentum you have at the end of the year is what you will have to work with at the beginning of the year. It’s time to finish strong!
In the final quarter of the year, it’s common to relax business and marketing strategies and simply assess annual productivity in preparation for the coming year. You’re ready for a break, and likely looking forward to time off spent with family during the holiday season. But a strong push with focused attention to current clients, and prospecting new clients will put you head and shoulders above the competition, and give a surge of momentum moving into the new year.
What are the efforts that qualify as marketing? The American Marketing Association defines marketing as:
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
Marketing efforts are essential in any year, but especially in one where economic uncertainty abounds.
(Check out our blog post, How to Maintain Strong Client Relationships, to learn more about the importance of cultivating lasting client relationships for long-term business success.)
With financial concerns surging because of economic fluctuations and unprecedented unemployment rates, now is the time to keep your marketing efforts strong to find those ideal potential clients with immediate needs you can address. Your expertise is what will help future clients navigate the uncertainty they feel moving into this next year.
Consumer habits have changed. The way we communicate, consume information, dine at restaurants, and shop—it's all changed. Some of these changes will only be temporary, but some will likely stick. Productivity has improved dramatically for some, making way for a dramatic shift to remote work, decreasing the need for brick-and-mortar office space.
Take the time to analyze how all of the world's fluctuations over the past several months have affected your business as a whole: your clientele and their needs, and the needs of your business structure. Lean on metrics and analytics that show what efforts are successful and which are not. Review your business plan to assess where you may need to adapt to our changed environment to effectively meet your business goals. What has worked in the past may not be effective now.
Draw on the strong relationships you’ve developed with your current clients, and be sure to touch base with them for reviews this quarter. The last quarter of this year is different from previous years, and your strategy needs to be different.
Your clients are likely concerned about the volatility of the economy, and what will happen at the beginning of the year—but you won’t know unless you are communicating with them. Don’t be afraid to address these topics with your clients! You are there to discuss their concerns head-on, in a factual manner to give them a clear view of their current situation and offer guidance for future scenarios.
Even if a prospective client already has a financial advisor, accountant, or insurance agent, maybe they aren’t addressing timely concerns they have on their mind. If you are able to address concerns and put them at ease, that may be the open door to closing new business moving into the new year.
With both current clients and prospective clients, your messaging to them needs to be timely. Continue reaching out with phone calls, emails, and through social media platforms. Prospecting new clients with our Cold-Click® marketing method is especially effective. Through Cold-Click marketing, we send customized, concise, and unique messages that quickly generate indications of interest from your ideal prospective new client. It’s a quick and easy way to address timely concerns. Schedule a call, or attend our next webinar to learn more about how we can help boost your current marketing strategy to reach your business goals.
A strong online presence adds to your credibility as an industry professional and helps to give a strong first impression to prospective clients. Be sure your website is up to date with current photos, promotions, blog posts, and business updates. When you’re looking for a new restaurant to try, or when you’re researching the best product you’re in the market for, how do you make your choice? If you’re like most people you’ll do a quick search online, and an establishment or company with the strongest website and social media presence will usually give you a better impression than one who doesn’t.
Your social media presence also adds to your credibility. It shows that you care about connecting with your audience. Social media platforms are ideal for offering timely information and advice, communicating your brand identity and values, sharing blog posts, and sharing personally-related updates (posts with personal photos often get more engagement than salesy posts). See our blog post, 5 Tips To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile Now!, for pointers on how to give your social media profile a facelift.
When analyzing your online presence, put yourself in the prospective customer or client’s shoes to see how your business is perceived at first glance. Your website and social media profiles should be user-friendly and informative. The more a prospect can learn about you before ever meeting you, the better.
You are an expert in your field! Content marketing is one of the easiest ways to boost your marketing strategy. It's inexpensive to create and publish content, and simple to distribute. Create written content with blog posts and share them through your social media platforms, and send them through email campaigns to clients and prospects in your CRM. Content marketing is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing. It will drive conversion rates with higher email open and click-through rates, generate greater social media engagement and drive traffic to your website. You are adding value with timely information rather than always sharing obviously salesy emails and social media posts.
Offer free webinars! Webinars are easier and less expensive to produce than in-person seminars. Webinars generally have higher attendance rates, and you are easily able to capture the information from the leads generated in your list of attendees. Again, you are offering free information that easy to access and consume. Inviting prospects likely to be interested in your services to webinars you host is a service we offer to our clients. Do you need assistance in getting started with hosting webinars? We can coach you through launching this effective marketing tool with your business.
Customer/Client experience is often far more important than how much a product or service costs. And the quality of that customer experience is up to you! Develop and maintain strong relationships, provide excellent service, and follow up to ensure customer satisfaction.
Rather than seeing this final quarter of the year as a time to slow down and get ready for next year, finish strong! Be sure you maintain strong client relationships and address all of their timely concerns before someone else does. And with prospecting new business, now is the time to ramp up your marketing strategy and bring in as much new business as possible so you have the momentum needed to start 2021 strong.
Are you interested in using the same software we use in our Cold-Click® marketing method? Click on the image below to get started on your free trial! With Octopus and our coaching services, you're well on your way to reaching your business growth goals!