Virtual Assistant and Online Marketing Advice for Petpreneurs
Pet Businesses – How to Get More Clients Part 4 of 5
27May2009 Filed under: Marketing, Pet business social media marketing Author: JoanSo we are almost there! This is Part 4 of How to Get More Clients for Your Pet-Related Business and by now you should have many ideas for your marketing plan. To refresh your memory on how to get more clients…
Strategy No. 1 is Change your Mindset…change your mindset from what marketing used to be to what it is now, believe that you are the expert, believe that your target market needs your services and you are the best one out there providing those services. If you have no idea what I’m talking about I suggest you read Part 1.
Strategy No. 2 is Define or Refine Your Target Market…identify your niche market! Potential clients/customers want a tightly niched service provider because they want someone who is familiar with that service. They want an expert! And remember, you are that expert and nobody can do it better than you.
Strategy No. 3 is Build Your List…the longer the list, the more people you can contact to promote your services. The key here is to make sure your list includes people that are in your target market and that you can contact them all at once.
And now lets discuss my favorite strategy - Social Media Networking.
Strategy No. 4 - USE SOCIAL NETWORKING
I can’t emphasize this enough! If you want people to recognize you as the expert, social media networking is the way to go. Is free marketing! Just understand that social media networking is about building relationships and just like any other relationship, it takes time and effort. It doesn’t happen in one week, not even in one month. Just keep working at it at least a half hour everyday and you will see results. Many people are doing business with people they have met on social networks.
Ms. Babinsky makes a great point about social media networking - “Before you start using social networking you must decide what your goals are for networking and what results you are seeking.”
- Who do you want to meet? You should be open to network with anyone, but most importantly is for you to connect with your target market and of course to connect with your existing customers.
- What are your goals for using social networking sites? Keep in mind that many of your potential clients are using these networking sites to network and not to buy your service immediately. So get to know them, be friendly and understanding. Interact with them! If your goal is to sell, sell, sell, then social media marketing is not for you. You need to connect first, then sell!
What social media strategies work for you? I would love to hear your ideas!
![[Post to Twitter]](http://www.petbusinessva.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png){kind=icon}
2 Responses to “Pet Businesses – How to Get More Clients Part 4 of 5”
Leave a reply
About this blog
The Pet Biz Helper is here to assist busy petpreneurs like yourself with those "annoying and tedious" tasks you would rather delegate to someone else. We specialize in online marketing and this is what the blog page is all about...free online marketing tips and more! If you would like to know more specifics about what we do at Pet Biz Helper feel free to visit our Services page.
Let's Connect Online
Or, subscribe in a Reader
Joshua
June 30th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Hey Joan,
Excellent series. Question for you about social media… There are a dozen logos in the image of the social media sites above.
Would it be better (more effective) to focus on one, maybe two, of these sites, or do we want to establish a presence at as many of these as possible?
My fear is that if I try and target too many, I won’t have time to be effective.
Thanks.
Joan
July 7th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Josh, you don’t want to get overwhelmed with all the social media sites out there. I recommend my clients to pick one or two that they prefer and get comfortable with them. You can also ask your clients and see which social media networks they use often and join those sites. Remember, social media is about connecting and engaging with your clients and this requires a time commitment. If you join too many social media networks you won’t have time to engage and connect!