In the Roofing and Waterproofing business I have heard many differing stories. They range from “I think it will be better in 2010,” to “its only going to get worse, I don’t know if I will make it.” Well, nobody knows for sure, but here are some of the facts as taken from the National Marketing Federation Inc.:
Fact #1: If you don’t increase your presence in the industry or double your contacts on potential projects, you will be missing opportunities that may keep your business going. You can create more or better marketing tools. “Sit down and make a list of everything you’re going to need each time you make contact with a prospective customer or client, including a stationery package, brochures and presentation tools,” advises marketing expert Kim T. Gordon, president of National Marketing Federation Inc. This way you will be working towards a short term and long term goal.
Fact #2: 2. Greet clients with style. Voice mail may not seem like a component of your marketing plan, but if a potential client calls and your kid answers, that client will be gone before you can even technically call him a client. So get yourself a professional voice-mail system (even the phone company offers options) with several boxes, advises Gordon, so callers can press “1″ to hear more about your services, “2″ for your web and e-mail addresses, etc.
Fact #3: 3. Focus as narrowly as possible. Instead of trying to reach all the people some of the time, narrow your target audience to highly qualified prospects. Instead of going to seven networking groups once every two months, go to the two groups with the best prospects every week. “Instead of marketing to 5,000 companies, [find] several dozen highly qualified companies and make regular contact with them,” says Gordon. Call them, mail your marketing materials, and then ask to meet. It’ll save you money and time.
Obviously, these are only a few of the many ideas that you can utilize. The simple truth is, don’t wait until it is too late.
The statistics as reported by Money Morning (a global investment news source) tells us a long story that isn’t good. Refer to www.moneymorning.com for information as it relates to the overall economy. Be prepared to tighten up the belt. Based upon this and several other sources, it would seem that we are in for a rough ride over the next few years.
