Rick sat down shaking his head muttering “Marketing
Automation.”
“What’s the problem?“
Kathy asked.
“Marketing automation for clients with small budgets,” Rick
said.
“Not easy,” Gail said. “I’m one of those little guys and
between being told why I can’t do something and that it is going to cost me a
bunch more every time I want to do something has made me come to the conclusion that it is not possible on a tight
budget.”
That’s when I jumped in. ”Guys,” I said, “Let’s sort out what
is wanted, what’s needed and what can be done for what sized budget.”
Gail said, “That’s easy for you to say, you understand this
stuff!”
Rob drawled, “I’m with Gail on this one. I feel like that
cartoon cat starin’ through knothole in a fence one moment and bein’ pulled
through it the next!”
Kathy said, “That smarts just thinking about it! “
“Tha’s why I want Fletch to explain himself,“ said Rob.
I responded, “Let’s make this simple. For starters you have
to have a web site that establishes credibility and makes it easy for folks to
understand what you do. And includes some easy way to contact you.
Next you need to have some sort of contact management system
so you can keep track of clients/customers, prospects, connections and
suspects.
Without any other stuff you can automate your marketing.
First you have to figure out how you get the business.
Every small business has two
sources of additional revenue: Current clients and new customers. Current
clients can be as much as 60% of revenues. New customers get more attention and
they can come from two sources, referrals and new business development.
The simplest automation is you.
Here’s how:
1. Split
your contact records into three lists:
- Clients/Customers
- Clients/Customers
& Referral sources - Prospects
2. Plan
and implement regular contacts with each based on where they are in your sales
funnel
3. Upgrade
the status as needed based on their latest actions
The first level of digital
automation you may want to add is an ability to do e-mail marketing which
allows you to send out individual e-mails that are personalized with the
person’s name to a list of folks. You can prepare it in advance and schedule to
go out when you want. Some contact managers (Big Contacts) include this
capability. Most low cost ones do not. You can get it for free (Mail Chimp) or for
relatively low cost (Constant Contact). But if it is not part of your system
you will have to handle all the synchronization of names and e-mails.
The next level requires a layer of
sophistication that most folks are uncomfortable with. You need a way for folks
to make choices and based on those choices to receive different information or
content.
That requires landing pages with
capture forms and auto responders. The landing pages provide a way for people
first to give you their name and e-mail. In some systems the addition of that data
to your contact database can be automatic. But, depending on what you use, you
may have to enter the data manually.
If people are subscribing to a
newsletter or briefing or any kind of report that goes out regularly they can
be put on the list for that specific publication or subject area or however you
have defined it. At this point, you can handle that manually. (But it can be
automated)
Landing pages can also be the
indicators as to what the prospect is interested in. Let’s say you responded to
an offer in my blog. The link takes you to a landing page with a form to fill
out if you want to get the item I offered. When you click submit, the auto
responder sends you a link to the requested item. (A Weber is one of the best
known providers of auto responders and an e-mail marketing capability.)
The sophistication of CRM systems
and synchronization between the various parts gets better every day. Prices are
coming down. The top of the line can be subscribed to for under $250 a month
these days.
I’m currently testing a solution
that will cost me under thirty bucks a month and do just about everything I
want. E-mail me Jerry@Z-axisMarketing.com and ask for a copy of my Contact Relationship Magic review.”
What products have you found that
can help automate marketing for the little guy?
The marketing lunch bunch will be
back next week. Pull up a place, order a beer (we’re Portland based) and learn
about Marketing Without Money TM.
Jerry Fletcher works with
solopreneurs, small businesses and professional service organizations to bring
Contact Relationship Magic TM to their business development. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com
Jerry speaks professionally on three continents
(he is just waiting for an offer from Australia) on the power of Trust to build
your business. See videos of signature stories at www.NetworkingNinja.com