(including 3 Must-Have Marketing Tools to Help You Save Time, Make More Money, and Serve More Ideal Clients)
Have you seen the latest stats on small business failure? According to a recent publication by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, over 40% of small businesses fail within the first three years1.
Who knows what those stats are going to look like post COVID-19! It sure is rough out there!
Especially when you’re forced to contend with rising costs, ever increasing compliance requirements, and ideal client referrals coming fewer and farther between.
So, what’s the solution? How do you avoid the one thing all small business owners across the country fear more than anything else?
In short: you must continue to grow. As the saying goes ‘if you have money, you no longer have a problem.’ Cash flow and new revenue really are the antidotes to so many issues we face on a daily basis as small business owners.
Let’s take a quick look at the top 3 ways to increase your revenue, boost your cashflow, and grow your business.
The best ways to grow a professional services business:
- Get more clients
- Sell more to each client
- Get your clients to buy more often
As an experienced business owner, you’ll no doubt attest that options 2 and 3 are rarely ‘easy wins’, right? If you’ve exhausted the potential that exists within your existing client base it’s definitely time to get serious about option 1: get more clients.
How do you get more clients for your business?
As of today, there are so many different ways to do this, but let’s focus on the three tried, tested and proven ways to get more clients:
- Referrals from existing clients and referral partners within your network
- Cold calling – also referred to as ‘outbound marketing’
- Marketing your business online to generate ‘inbound leads’
So which option is right for you? The best way to answer this question is to be realistic about how much time you have to invest, and how reliable each option is likely to be.
Personally, and I say this as someone who has tried everything when it comes to growing my business, generating inbound leads by marketing your business online is the only answer.
Why?
Put simply, it’s the only strategy that delivers predictable, reliable outcomes – and with less of your own time! Not only that, but it also works for any professional services business no matter what you sell, who you serve and how much you charge.
So, if marketing your business online is such a great way to ‘get more clients’ why isn’t everyone doing it? To be honest I’ve heard lots of reasons why, these include:
- “My clients aren’t online”
- “Internet marketing is too complicated”
- “Digital marketing is a waste of time and money”
- “People searching online are just tyre kickers”
It is only after spending 4-years and investing in excess of $300k in online marketing to grow the advice businesses I own, that I can dispel all of these as absolute myths.
Gone are the times when you could afford to ignore the internet, its reach, and its power. The internet is the solution. Digital marketing can give you the competitive edge and help grow your business.
But the good news is it doesn’t have to be complicated. Marketing your business online can be as complex or as simple as you want to make it. My guess is, you’re voting for the simple version. Good choice!
Today we’re going to share with you three simple to use, low-cost marketing tools you can use to grow your business online.
Whether its social media, email marketing, content creation or sales, there are now cost-effective tools to help you save time and money and generate more sales along every step of the way.
It doesn’t matter where your business is at, these three low-cost tools will help to simplify your marketing and grow your business:
1. Keywords Everywhere
Your next must have tool is Keywords Everywhere – a free internet browser add-on you can use to create super relevant blog articles, newsletter updates, you name it. All in less time and with without the usual frustration and indecision.
If you’re a bit stuck on what content to write about or what content your client wants to read, Keywords Everywhere is here to save the day.
If you type into Google a keyword of your business, say “retirement planning”, Keywords Everywhere shows up automatically on the side of your browser sharing the top searches related to the keyword. Here’s what showed up from my “retirement planning” search:
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- Retiring at 60 in Australia
- Superannuation strategies for retirees
- Financial Planning for retirees
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Now that you have this secret knowledge about what people are actually wanting to find, you can structure your content around these topics and be confident your time, energy and money isn’t going to waste. Download the browse add-on here!
2. Vidyard
Vidyard is a video creation and hosting platform helping businesses to harness the power of video content.
Video content is so engaging and only becoming more popular. Cisco estimates that by 2022, engaging, growing and Cisco estimates that by 2022, 82% of web traffic from all over the world will be from videos.
That’s a lot… So, let’s learn how you can use the power of video content using Vidyard.
It allows you to add videos simply and quickly to your emails and website, a great way to introduce a personal touch to your client communication.
You can share your own screen and talk your clients through a complicated document, explain hard to grasp concepts that are next to impossible by email, or just say a quick hello to new clients.
If it’s a video of you, they’re going to feel like they know and trust you that little bit more!
Plus, you can easily track all the analytics and action taken from your videos – are my videos actually being watched? What kind of videos get more views? When is the best time to send videos? That means no guessing games about whether it is worth it or profitable. You can be absolutely positive whether it is contributing to the growth of your business.
What’s more is that it is super easy to use. If you’re a little nervous to venture into the marketing world full of endless tools, you can be confident that Vidyard is simple and user-friendly, taking the stress and unnecessary time out of video creation.
Sign up to Vidyard for free here!
3. You can Book Me
In a world where you can book almost everything online – from your next meal to your next flight, an online scheduling system is a must.
You Can Book Me is an online scheduling system which, when linked to your website, allows new clients to book with just the click of a button. The program syncs to your calendar so as soon as a client books an appointment, you know about it.
This means you essentially have a 24/7 receptionist, without the actual receptionist part! Your clients can book when and where they want, without the back and forth emails wasting your time and that of your clients.’
The ability for you to have a 24/7 automatic booking system means there’s always a way for clients to get in touch with you. No more fear of missing out on leads!
Find out more about how You Can Book Me can help you convert clients without the extra effort!
Download these tools to start growing your business and witnessing the results!
Why now is your time to succeed online?
If you’re fed up with trying to grow your business the old way (the hard way) and are ready to conquer the digital marketing world, there really has never been a better time to get more clients online.
Now is your opportunity to do so the smart way, by using some of the most innovative online marketing strategies. Things that will save you time, help you grow and deliver greater predictability in your business and in your life.
Want advice on how to grow your business online from someone who has made all the mistakes, so you don’t have to? Schedule a no-cost, no-obligation strategy session with ever disappointed Parramatta Eels fan and CEO of MBS Advisory, Daniel Brown. Click here to request your session.
REFERENCES
1 Small Business Counts: Small businesses in the Australian economy. https://www.asbfeo.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/ASBFEO-small-business-counts2019.pdf
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