As Bob Dylan once so wisely said, “The times they are a’ changing”. While we all know change is the one thing you can always count on. The rate of change over the past 20 years has been faster than ever before. And it just keeps speeding up thanks in large part to the Internet.
The big question is, is your business keeping up? Are you leveraging all the new tools available to grow your business like never before? What about the new business models that have cropped up?
If not, you should be. Because it’s not the same world my parents launched their business into, that’s for sure. That’s also a good thing!
It’s never been easier or less expensive for a solo entrepreneur to launch a business and grow it to 6-figure in revenues from a home office. Some smart entrepreneurs are doing this in under a year without spending a fortune on marketing and advertising.
So today I thought I’d take a look at some old business and marketing models and compare them to new ways of doing business. Now, keep in mind, I’m not saying you need to throw all the older methods out the window. Many still work well.
It’s just that if you aren’t embracing some of the new models and methods, chances are good you’re working harder than you need to for less than stellar results.
Face-to-face coffee meetings – Yes, it is wonderful to meet people face-to-face. But your time is the most valuable thing you have, and it’s in limited supply. So be choosy about when you give your precious face time.
If it’s a get-to-know you coffee meeting just say no and schedule a phone call instead. If you must see the other person, try using SKYPE to make video phone calls from your office.
Because you and I both know that 30-minute coffee meeting is going to take two hours or more out of your day. Once you’ve chatted on the phone you can always schedule coffee for another day if it still makes sense.
Consulting by the hour – Absolutely this is still a good thing to offer. But you can make the buying decision easier for your prospects by offering your services in packages. So put together three different ones that offer different amounts of access to you. Be sure to give them sassy names. Then enjoy more ongoing relationships with your clients.
Local print advertising – While newspaper and magazine ads still absolutely have their place, nowadays local online advertising can often do a lot for you for less money. So get your business on review sites like Yelp.com, and of course add it to the Google business directory. Online coupons like those offered at Groupon.com can generate a ton of business too depending on what you sell.
Print brochures – Unless you work with corporate clients you can pretty much skip this. Heck I’d probably skip it no matter what. You can always put together an info packet using one-sheets that can be repurposed. And these days your Website should be the hub of your marketing efforts and offer a whole lot more than any brochure ever could.
Brochure-style Websites – On the subject of brochures and Websites, this is another type of brochure that dead. A generic site with general information that’s basically an electronic brochure does not engage prospect and move them to take the next step. You need a site designed to: get their attention, give them all the info they need to make a decision, collect their contact info so you can stay in touch, and move them to take action.
Email Marketing – The silver bullet for every small business my have hit something it can’t penetrate…Overstuffed inboxes. With everyone suffering from email overload this is the next marketing trend to have started losing effectiveness.
While it still works, it doesn’t work like it used to. So you need to use mixed media to get the message out. Many entrepreneurs are offering their content via blogs, social networks, and now even text message on their mobile phones.
What have you changed in your business to take advantage of the new opportunities? What are you planning to change? What trends do you see? Please do share by leaving a comment below…
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