After my couple-day through into dumping my design company and going to pc "house calls", I have come to the realization that a good part of my lack of success with my company has been my lack of focus. So with that in mind I want to invigorate my business and I call on you all for help.

For starters I have been terrible at marketing my business to my customers I know this is certain. I have only gone to a couple local chamber GTG’s and their attendance was pretty light. I have not invested in things like ad words, local newspaper advertisements, and shoot I still have nearly 500 business cards that I had ordered and have hardly passed out. I have not tried any mail marketing campaigns, flyer handouts, or anything of that nature.

What I have done is relied word-of-mouth and networking with some cold e-mails sent out that has netted some interest but rarely have I closed the deal. It usually ends up in a “my website is only worth $100 of my investment” discussion and I usually back away from the conversation. I am beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t do some type of basic template site and go through with some cheapo sites just to get some name recognition out there. I know I have digressed…

So what avenues should I take to maximize my advertisement exposure without breaking the bank? What should I avoid? On a side note is there anything I can do to get a lot of business cards out effectively? The cards that I ordered were not laminated and they are starting to fade a little (black cards).

Looks like you need to build a plan first.

Building a plan takes thought, focus, and time. Here's a couple of starter questions:

1) What results do you want? Do you want people to buy, think of you first, be the leader in your category? You need to be specific.

2) Who are you trying to reach, who are your customers? If you could describe them so the police could put an APB on them, what would they look like, what would their occupation be, etc.

3) What is the most important message you'd like to tell them....in 10 words or less. Can you communicate what you have to offer in very simple terms.

I also have some more marketing tips at my site, if you'd like to see/hear more.

Good luck!

Some good foundation questions starcom. Let's see:

1. I would like people to look at my website (via google, business card, f2f contact) and get the sense that I am a excellent designer and as time progresses to become a creative partner with their business.

2. I am trying to reach small and medium sized business, mostly focused in the Hudson Valley area of NY. This would include food places, service based businesses, car shops, barber shops, pretty much anyone that fits the small and medium sized business mold.

3. "Effective Creative Solutions" is my USP. I hope that translates into "hey that Paris guy does some serious design work for anything creative I need".

Here's some thoughts, please forgive me if this seems direct:

1) You can't take "look" to the bank. You need to have the mindset that you want businesses to hire you. The website is the conduit for the info. You will close the sale by asking for it.

2) Could you target more specifically on a specialty, a business category that you do really well with and could "super-serve"? That way you could narrow your best prospects down rather than try to go after one big huge group of small-medium sized businesses. Then choose 100 businesses in that category and start making calls, visits, mailings, and the like.

3) Effective Creative Solutions to me is to vague and general. How do you stand-out from everyone else, what can the customer expect from you, what is unique, and summarize it in 10 words or less. This is an exercise that takes time, thought, and many re-works. Brainstorm this with the folks in and around your business.

2. The business market here in the Hudson Valley is across the board. I would probably "do best" with tech related companies but many of these tech related companies have in house creative people so that is a no-go. When I did my first cold e-mail send I essentially tried to find 100+ companies that had outdated web presences and were small businesses.

3. You are right that might take some time to iron out.

One thing that I have found is that people, particularly those who own small or medium sized businesses, sometimes need to be educated about why they need a web site or what a site can do for them. You might consider speaking at some local Chamber of Commerce or other business organization meetings. The talk could be basic, something like "The Five Ways a Good Web Site Can Help Increase Your Business".

You might also consider, if you haven't already done so, asking those clients you rely on for word of mouth if they would give you testimonials that you could use on your site and in your literature.

I just had a quick look at your site. If it were my company, I would revamp your portfolio page. I would include the company names, and explanation of what you did for the company and a testimonial, if the company will give you one. As it stands now, that page does nothing to tell me why I would want to hire you.

You also might want to consider going into a little more depth about who you are. The site is nice but there is nowhere that gives the name of a person. People like to work with people, not companies. Right now, in my opinion, the site feels a little impersonal.

One more thought:

When you own a small business, you wear a bunch of different hats. And for most of us that means the hat of "your top salesperson".

If "your top salesperson" isn't asking for the business, guess what happens? Nothing.

When I've counselled creative or tech types about jump starting their business, many are not comfortable with knocking on doors and making the sales calls. Even after many years of doing it, they know the selling system better but it never becomes easy for them.

And that's OK. You don't have to like it, you just have to be good enough at it to generate the business. And it's better than the alternative if the business were to go down the tubes.

Advertising is an accelerator, not a rescue ship. It takes you where you're going faster. Use it to enhance the good sales efforts you're already doing. But if you don't have a system for closing sales, it's just going to be an unwelcomed expense for you.

Best of luck....hope this has helped.

Hi,

I would recommend spending a bit of time coming up with a marketing plan.

Let's start with something very basic. It seems that you are not very sure about your target clients. How big are these companies? How many employees do they have? Based on what you are charging for your services, how much do you think your clients will have to make in annual revenue to afford hiring you? What industries are you going to focus on? Who are the decision makers in these companies?

Ok, well I'm in the business you're in so I have no problem giving you whatever advice I possibly can. I also took a look at your website. Unless I completely missed it, I'm not seeing an actual portfolio. Yes I see a list of companies, but I want to SEE your work. This is a tough industry. Its all about convincing people that they need you to do the work that they'd normally either fudge through themselves or get some teenager to do for them at a cheap price. Decide to spend 2-3 days each week for marketing. (if you have more time, use it too). Then get even more organized... plan a day where you direct your attention to a specific type of business. Perhaps on Mondays you focus on tradesmen and the construction industry. Then on tuesdays you focus on boutiques. Let their ads be YOUR guide. When I first started building my client base, I looked for the small business ads that people were putting out there. If they looked like they could use some help, I sent them a short little note introducing myself and offering them a free design analysis. I even offered free mock ups (still do actually, its a great way to get clients to see that you're really as good as you say you are). Keep your notes short, to the point and not confrontational. You don't want it to appear that you're trying to sell.. you just want to be the informative guru that they depend on. Tell anyone and everyone what you do.. you never know who may need your services down the road. Be excited and find enjoyment in it... it's contagious!

Hope this helps...I know you can do it!