After Marketing Advice

[Immental1200]

I'm 15 and I've been trading as a Sole Trader for almost a year now, I'm getting customers mainly from word of mouth. I also have a Facebook page and a website.

I provide IT Support & Repair services to people, and I'm just after some advice as to how I can increase my customer base.

Thanks.

 

[kalooki]

Hey Immental,

If you pm me your email and phone number I should be able to sort you out with a £100 voucher for Google at the minimum a £50 and you can sign up for a yahoo/bing £125

http://advertising.microsoft.com/uk...ng_mt=_ad=12156820335_cat=Brand_lp=GlobalWave

Which will give you a start in PPC if you need help with an ad just ask but really it s not too hard have a look what your competitors in different towns are doing then get a couple of ads together and just target your particular town or area and see how you get on its free get permission to use your mum/dads card to sign up and do it manual pay then you wont get charged when your voucher runs out, but seriously you should get some work out of it.

And this is a great talk from TED that should help you on your way with how to approach your marketing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA&feature=g-wl

Cheers

Tom

 

[Immental1200]

Hey Immental,

If you pm me your email and phone number I should be able to sort you out with a £100 voucher for Google at the minimum a £50 and you can sign up for a yahoo/bing £125

-removed due to limits-

Which will give you a start in PPC if you need help with an ad just ask but really it s not too hard have a look what your competitors in different towns are doing then get a couple of ads together and just target your particular town or area and see how you get on its free get permission to use your mum/dads card to sign up and do it manual pay then you wont get charged when your voucher runs out, but seriously you should get some work out of it.

And this is a great talk from TED that should help you on your way with how to approach your marketing.

-removed due to limits-

Cheers

Tom

Thanks for this Tom, I've sent you a PM.

If you wouldn't mind taking a look at my website, just to see what you think of it? I can't link it here yet because of my post limit ... but I'll add it in the PM.

How much does one click on an ad tend to cost?

Thanks.

 

[termsandconditions]

15 years old. God, I feel ancient. Look, marketing is one of the three pillars that supports your business going forward. It's way too important to leave to one vendor (no disrespect, Mr Kalooki). There are a bjillion ways to access your market and you need to drive the marketing agenda rather than be funneled down one particular marketing cul-de-sac.

Punch in 'marketing' into Amazon dot co uk. What do you see? Hopefully Dee Blick's book is at the top. Read it over the summer between the lidos and the young girls and the ceaseless .. never mind. Have met Dee at the Gatwick Manor BNI - very down-to-earth lady yet hugely talented. This book will blow your marketing mind. And, no, I'm not an affiliate for those naughty sceptics out there, not yet anyway.

Best Regards

 

[Immental1200]

15 years old. God, I feel ancient. Look, marketing is one of the three pillars that supports your business going forward. It's way too important to leave to one vendor (no disrespect, Mr Kalooki). There are a bjillion ways to access your market and you need to drive the marketing agenda rather than be funneled down one particular marketing cul-de-sac.

Punch in 'marketing' into Amazon dot co uk. What do you see? Hopefully Dee Blick's book is at the top. Read it over the summer between the lidos and the young girls and the ceaseless .. never mind. Have met Dee at the Gatwick Manor BNI - very down-to-earth lady yet hugely talented. This book will blow your marketing mind. And, no, I'm not an affiliate for those naughty sceptics out there, not yet anyway.

Best Regards

You sound just like my business teacher with the marketing is too important bit

Which book?

Powerful Marketing On A Shoestring Budget: For Small Businesses
or
The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Book

Thanks.

 

[termsandconditions]

Buy both for Heaven's sake. Expensive? It may seem that way but in terms of PPC, let's say each book costs you 20 clicks in PPC money. Which would you rather have? 40 (20x2) clicks on your website or a lifetime of marketing ideas and knowledge?

Your teacher talks a lot of sense by the way. The three pillars thing - that doesn't come from me alone, that comes from how Barclays Bank looks at business loan applicants.

Buy the book/s. Remember what your teacher taught you because she sounds like a gem. And learn how to listen to your market ...even if you don't listen to anyone on this forum.

Best Regards

 

[kalooki]

I weren't advocating just one way Terms just pointing out a good way to start getting free targeted traffic and I like the 3 pillars idea and I'm trying to add many more to my businesses and not just rely on the marvellous Google as that could blow away in the wind.

I've ordered the books as haven't read them but I will whilst I'm holiday in a few weeks I find it easier to listen to audio books whilst I'm working and have got through a few of seth Godin s books the last couple of weeks, great ideas in there that I'll take on board.

Tom

 

[DavidBerryACMA]

My advice to you is that you talk to your existing customers. You mention that you have receive orders via word and mouth ... that's fantastic. It is the most profitable way of developing your business. Write a gentle and personal email to your existing customers to see how they are and how they are getting on. Avoid selling to them instead aim to get a response. Your customers will answer your question. Avoid investing too heavily in such things as Adwords etc as it tends to dent your bank balance. Instead keep things very personal at this stage until you have established a blue-print for success. Then things get really exciting as the business begins to expand rapidly.

 

[GeorgeM]

How about asking your existing customers to refer their friends or contacts to you. Also get some recommendations from exiting customers and use them in your marketing, e.g "I used YourCo to help me fix this problem on my PC - worked a treat" etc.

 

[Ben Palmer-Wilson]

I'm 15 and I've been trading as a Sole Trader for almost a year now, I'm getting customers mainly from word of mouth. I also have a Facebook page and a website.

I provide IT Support & Repair services to people, and I'm just after some advice as to how I can increase my customer base.

Thanks.

Immental,


a few things you can do:


Increase your online presence. SEO, a blog, whatever. If you need more advice on this, ask.


Other things to do:


Offer a referral bonus - offer your current clients 10% discount/10% of jobs from people they refer to you.

Find ways to improve your current customer's loyalty - this is probably the most solid way of improving your client base.



Ben.

 

[XanderMarketing]

Hi

I wrote a guide last year on marketing professional service companies. Most of the ideas in there should be applicable to your business. You can download it here:

http://www.xandermarketing.com/marketing-resources/professional-services-marketing/

Alex