Experts say that prospects need to have contact with you 7 times before they will feel comfortable buying from you. Here are 7 ways to nurture a budding business relationship.
1. Business cards often form a person's first impression. When you attend networking events and meet tons of people, your business card is something tangible your prospects can take home with them and refer to and remember you. Be sure to have your business card professionally designed with your branding and contact information including phone number, email address and website address.
2. Your website provides a professional image for your business. After hearing about you from a friend, the first thing they will do is go to your website to learn more about you and your services. Be sure your website is attractively designed by a professional and has a clear call to action. Having your website optimized for popular search terms is an excellent way to increase traffic to your website.
3. Email newsletters are a great way to educate your prospects with important tips and facts about your industry. They are much more than the latest news or photos of your kids. Use email newsletters to communicate your message and announce specials and promotions. Find out how to make sure your email newsletter is being read properly by your recipients.
4. Write in your blog regularly. It’s best to have a blog right on your website. That way you own your content. If you have a blog on blogger.com which is owned by Google, it can be difficult to transfer all your blog posts to your own blog on your website. This requires custom programming. Also it is possible to lose your blog content. A colleague had been blogging for some time on wordpress.com and his account was shut down for no reason and he lost all of his content. Here at Seascape we are in the process of setting up our own blog to match our website.
5. Social Media is becoming mainstream and an important way to do business. We’ve already talked about blogging. Seascape Web Design recently started using Twitter. If you're new to Twitter, you can find us by going here: www.twitter.com/seascapeweb To follow us on Twitter, add @seascapeweb. We give important tips on Internet marketing and specials and promotions. Having a page on Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with work friends and make new contacts in your industry. Just keep those randy fun photos you took at the last party with your friends off your public Facebook account.
6. Networking groups are a great way to meet new people. Ask them about their business and how you can help them. When you receive a business card from someone, they are giving you permission to contact them. Add these contacts to your Contact database and send them your monthly newsletter filled with resources and information that your prospects will find helpful. Be sure to include your mailing address and an unsubscribe link to follow the Canadian anti-spam rules. Posting a copy of your newsletter on your website and having a link giving the reader the option of viewing your newsletter online is great. Many email tools do not display your newsletter the way you would like.
7. Send new prospects emails with questions and information that they have requested. Follow up with phone calls and request to meet for coffee to learn more about their business. This way you can provide a free consultation.
Need a more professional image for your website?
Need to increase online sales and lead generation?
Contact katy@seascapewebdesign.com or call 604.729.4227.
