Promoting a Business

MartinB

Well-Known Member
Hi all, does anyone have any experience on the sales/marketing side of things when it comes to promoting a business, its been a bit of a struggle to date and i realise i need to get things going on the promotional front. There isn't much of a budget unfortunately but i'm just looking for some simple tips to get my name and my business to the relevant people or organisations.

I'm a sole trader looking to get more work in and not really au fais with some of the ideas that could be worked from the PC. I'm happy to share any info, type of business etc. via PM.

Any help appreciated.

Regards

Martin
 
Can I please ask what's the best free website to use. Got to be easy enough for a numpty to do, got to look tidy and got to take paypal or similar payments.

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I suppose it's all useful ?
 
Hello MartinB,

I asked this question of a web designer recently on behalf of one of my clients & the answer was 'Wix' as first choice & 'Wordpress' as second choice.
 
Hi all, does anyone have any experience on the sales/marketing side of things when it comes to promoting a business, its been a bit of a struggle to date and i realise i need to get things going on the promotional front. There isn't much of a budget unfortunately but i'm just looking for some simple tips to get my name and my business to the relevant people or organisations.

I'm a sole trader looking to get more work in and not really au fais with some of the ideas that could be worked from the PC. I'm happy to share any info, type of business etc. via PM.

Any help appreciated.

Regards

Martin


Knowing what you do might be a start
 
This might sound a bit hackneyed - and be called something different these days - but it does work to help shape your business. In one short sentence (a mission statement if you like), answer the following (for yourself, not necessarily on the thread):

What do you do?
Why is it of value?
Why would someone buy it?
Why are you better than anyone else doing the same thing?
What are your values (as in what you want to portray)?

Feel free to PM for the next step on this when done.

HTH
 
This might sound a bit hackneyed - and be called something different these days - but it does work to help shape your business. In one short sentence (a mission statement if you like), answer the following (for yourself, not necessarily on the thread):

What do you do?
Why is it of value?
Why would someone buy it?
Why are you better than anyone else doing the same thing?
What are your values (as in what you want to portray)?

Feel free to PM for the next step on this when done.

HTH

I'm glad to see that you also listen to people like Bryan Tracy Eric :)
 
I'm glad to see that you also listen to people like Bryan Tracy Eric :)

Never let it be said I have an original idea - or him for that matter.....!! It's just amazing that so few people/companies actually do this effectively. If you can't identify yourself, how or why would anyone else? If you can't identify what it is exactly you are looking to achieve, how do you measure progress?

And this before you even look at market, competition etc.
 
Hi and thanks to everyone for coming back, i work in wildlife management.

Ok, that still gives a very wide area you operate in. The web is full of general tips, but marketing strategy is specific to the organisation in question.

So, I am going to skip segmentation (i.e who you are selling to) and go to how to promote your business. Firstly, lot of people have stated social media, but I would urge caution. Not every business realizes value from using social media.

For example, if you are supplying your services to clients who would rather not have anyone know they (heaven forbid) need to control wildlife, a facebook and twitter feed may not be the most suitable platform.
So, depending on your business model, ask yourself. Who are my customers, what are their needs and how can I meet them.
Depending on you customers, they will be more receptive to specific type of advertising.

Direct marketing, such as mail/email or short A3 page explaining what you do may be more effective in some cases than cold calling.
Put an add in their chosen specialist read (like the Grocer or Razzle..).
Like attracts like so present yourself and your marketing info with a consistent image.
The most powerful advertising is word of mouth and personal recommendation, so the quality of your work will bring more people.
If you want more detail, you need to provide me with more info about what your operation is. Is the area you work in saturated and competition to high, or are there other limiting factors. Are you looking to expand into a new area and therefore is more about market offering?
 
Wildlife management is a big field with lots of specialists. Are you into sustainable use of wildlife & resources, pest management, restoration, etc, etc. What also is your own belief? do you believe on protectionist conservation or in wise use? This will be important for a perspective employer to know, for example I wouldn't even bother giving a protectionist an interview, although most recent graduates from Uni's still follow this ideology. What species & projects have you worked on in the past & have experience in? What areas are you passionate about & would like to work with or in? What do you excel at?

I think you could do worse than putting together a CV & also including a bit about yourself & your ideas & objectives. Wildlife is as controversial as religion these days & its important for perspective employers to know your "brand". Once you have your CV take it around to the places you'd like to work, be polite & presentable & then let word of mouth do the rest. If you have tertiary qualifications get back in touch with your old campus, they usually have good contacts with the industry & you can bet that any perspective employer will give them a call to see what sort of a character you are. I would. They will know the emerging trends & no doubt the gaps in the industry which need plugging.

Once you have a reputation in an industry like "wildlife" 90% of work will be from repeat business & word of mouth. Always try give more attention to your old business than to the new business. The old business is the foundation of your new business.

All the best.
Sharkey
 
Not everybody needs a website. Depends on your customers. If you need a website then do you have,
time to learn how to set one up?
the skill to do it properly?
the time to manage and update it on a regular basis?

so many companies fall over on the first hurdle, such as how to contact them or even show clearly what they actually do. I look at a lot of websites as part of my job. Again if you need to talk about it drop me a PM. I Don't have a business but happy to chat and point you to places to have a look.
 
Mate. I've just looked back through your posts you've asked the same question before. I also see you are only trying to pick up pest work. I know there might be a communication gap between Aust & the UK but the term management includes the idea of long term objectives including monitoring & measuring trends within the habitat you are "managing" . If your not monitoring & producing the indices of abundance on various species within this designated habitat with particular objectives in mind, you are a shooter/ pest controller not a wildlife manager.

This bit information would have been nice before you asked for a plan.

Sharkey

PS
Do you prepare a "property based management plan" on the properties you shoot on. This little bit of professionalism might be the edge you are looking for.
 
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