Part of what I tell my clients to do when it comes to marketing themselves is the “P” of my “R.E.P” acronym:
- R: Reach the audience that’s MOST LIKELY to do business with you.
- E: Educate that audience on your product/service or industry.
- P: POSITION yourself as an EXPERT in your Industry (the “Go To” person!)
Be a GURU! A guru is defined as “A recognized leader in a field”.
What are you already an expert at? If your are an agent for pre-paid legal services, then you are an expert to some degree in the area of legal needs for Small Businesses. If your business is landscaping, then position yourself as the authority when it comes to curb appeal and lawncare.
WHY?
If you are seen as the expert, then you no longer have to sell, you recommend. A doctor doesn’t sell his services, he or she recommends solutions as the expert. People would rather buy from experts than from a salesperson or even an ad.
WHO’S ALREADY DOING THIS?
Home Depot has positioned themselves not as the home improvement store with the best prices, but as
the experts in home improvement. They conduct workshops and have “how to” tools on their websites and in their stores. They are at expo’s giving tips and pointers on how to do anything. So when I’m ready to buy home improvement products from paint to fence, where do I go? To the experts!
SO HOW CAN YOU BECOME A GURU?
First, recognize what you are ALREADY an expert in that area that is related to your business. Your experience in your field already qualifies you as an expert. You can always increase your expertise with additional training and education, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THEN! (waiting is what hinders many of us now!)
Next, identify what needs are already out there among your target audience. The need for my client base is to get noticed, to market themselves and to effectively reach more prospects. Your clients may have a need to have have proper legal contracts as a small business, or create a professional identity on a small busines budget.
The next thing is to use vehicles and tools that communicate your expertise. Look for opportunities to be a speaker and talk NOT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS, but about the topic that your are knowledgeable about and can relate to your business. This will keep you from doing an infomercial but can still get you clients. Join the Chamber of Commerce or other networking group and offer to be a speaker at an upcoming meeting. Identify community organizations that interact with your target audience and offer to speak at a meeting. Many progressive churches now have meetings or groups that may be a good fit. By partnering with any of these groups, they will usually handle the promotion and expenses of the event so you won’t have that as an
expense.
In addition to speaking, send out periodic newsletters to your existing customers by mail or by email. This will keep them coming back.
Other things you can do are to write articles on things related to your business. Even if they are only published by the smallest newspaper in town, (or the church bulletin, the fact that you can share with a prospect that you write articles on related subjects in your industry will set you apart from your competition!
If you are uncomfortable with writing yourself, get a “ghost writer” or someone to re-write what you’d wish to publish. You can even fax or email articles of interest with a brief commentary that you write to your current customers or prospects. The key words are “articles of interest”.
