19 ways to market your business

Today at the Henley Business School and Reading University Pop-Up Business School we were working on ways to market your business.   These are the starting ideas we have from the 35 people in the room!

19 ways to market your business

1. Free value - Offer a free consultation or advice for people to get things going.  If they get a chance to experience your service for nothing and you deliver a great service it is a brilliant way to get business started
2. Newsletters - Use newsletters (email) to stay in touch with people and keep them up to date with what you are doing.  Always remain front of mind with your customers
3. Shared interest - find something that your customers (potential or actual) have in common with you and talk to them about that.  Build a relationship through common ground
4. Get talking - talk to everyone you meet, at the bus stop, online, twitter, or at networking events
5. Listen - the key to building rapport with your customers is to listen to them!
6. Social Media - using Twitter, Facebook and the other social media platforms to create conversation with people
7. Face to face meetings - actually get out there and meet people!
8. Referral/recommendations - one of the best way to get business.  Ask your customers who else they know that would be interested in your services.  Develop a referral strategy!
9. Forum marketing - get active in your community online and comment in the forums and blogs
10. Adverts - create a advert, have fun and video of you talking about your product e.g. DollarShaveClub.Com
11. Promotional competition - run competitions for the people you want to talk to 
12. Saying Thank You - when we the last time you said thank you for the business your customers give you?  Write them a letter, say thank you to their face, tell them you appreciate their business
    

How to market your business

13.    Publicity - get to know the journalists at the publications you want to be in and offer them articles, stories or information
14.    Blog - create a great blog with valuable content that your customers will want to read!
15.     Revitalise your old networks - Speak to people you haven't spoken to in a while, Facebook people, get talking to the people you used to know!
16.    Lunches and coffee - spend time with people, have a coffee, meet for lunch
17.    Launch Party - chose your audience for the event wisely and make sure they are fans and people that will help you build your business.  Have fun with this and create a splash
18.    Remember people's names - if you can remember names and details of people that is a fantastic way to build rapport
19.    Be an expert in your area - quickest way to become an expert is to read the top three books in your area, start teaching it and implementing it as fast as you can.  The be the expert you only need to be one step ahead

Chose your top three and start doing some of them every day

The key to marketing is consistency, chose how you are going to market your business and then do some every single day. Build momentum and amazing things will happen if you stick with it!

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