By Julia Rogers
The goal of any professional marketing campaign should be to grow a customer base, and no small business owner can do this in a vacuum. The most successful marketers in any industry are those that are social and get out into their communities to meet people, particularly targeting those that make the big business decisions for potential clients, or are the gatekeepers to connecting with these key individuals. There are of course two main challenges involved in this process: figuring out where to find the people that are decision makers or can get to them directly; using the right tactics to speak meaningfully to these people with a strong, relevant marketing message.
Where Do the Gatekeepers and Decision Makers Hide Themselves?
For small business owners providing goods or services that are trying to build their client base, successfully marketing to those that will make decisions means knowing where they hang out, both during and after work hours. Many business owners only get these marketing tricks “sort of” right by failing to completely fine-tune their search. They throw out a huge net and say, “I want to find anyone that makes a decision about anything important within my target market.”For example, the owner of a small accounting firm that provides services to small medical offices might decide to attend networking events with hospital administrators or pharmaceutical reps. These events might connect this person to a lot of people that do make decisions for large hospitals and may have connections to smaller offices, but ultimately do not provide direct connections to the right decision makers and gatekeepers. These networking events might start relationships that over time indirectly connect the accountant to the right person through referrals, but when time is money, the months and years this might take are unnecessary time wasted. A better fit would be to find a local conference, trade show or meeting place well-attended by doctors or administrative assistants working at small medical practices and go straight to the source.The most efficient marketing tricks will always be those that produce the highest number of qualified, viable leads. Small business owners that are great at getting these leads are those that know the specific problems of their target clients inside and out and can explain how their products or services help solve these problems in a way no other similar product or service available can. Being able to accurately find the places those that make purchase and contract decisions and delivering a marketing message that resonates in an appropriate setting where the target customer or client will be receptive is one of the best small business marketing strengths anyone can have.
The Gatekeeper or Decision Maker Is Not Instantly Interested
The harsh truth is, no matter what industry a small business owner is in or what product or service he provides, his/her target clients don’t have to and will likely not care about the average – and even above average – sales pitch that comes across his/her desk.
Everyone from administrative assistants – the standard “gatekeeper” at most companies – to company presidents, CEOs, CIOs, staff accountants or human resources directors get overwhelmed by hundreds if not thousands of people trying to sell their products and services on a daily basis. They are also typically pretty hip to age-old tactics of “tricking” them into standing at attention.
Tags: gatekeepers and decision makers, marketing tips, marketing tricks, professional marketing, small business, small business marketing