Creating Opportunities

The ability to create new opportunities and the flexibility to respond favourably are defining characteristics of successful businesses, both large and small. Find out what leading consultants have to say about how you can generate customer interest and improve service.

There are more ways than ever to reach out to new customers. For smaller companies, the internet, trade shows, and e-mail can be extremely cost effective.

A major part of keeping profitable and growing your business is maintaining a focus on business development. Even when you’ve got the right mix of work, clients and employees you should be looking for new opportunities. You could establish a process to do this whilst ensuring your existing customers don’t get neglected. The process helps you manage new business opportunities in a cost- and time-effective manner.

Identify the types of companies you want to work with and a realistic number of companies you want to target over a given period of time. For example: an accountant with experience in the marketing industry might decide to target five opportunities per month focussed on marketing consultancies.

Start to reach your qualified opportunities by showcasing your company’s products. Send them a brochure or a copy of any newsletters you produce and invite them to join; show off examples of your work; highlight relevant media articles.

The Internet can connect customers around the world to your company — and to your competitors just as easily. In order to win and retain business, often the only thing that sets you apart is superior customer service.

Here are three tried and true ways to learn more about your customers:
•Give them an incentive to share information about themselves. Rogers says this is what one retailer, Zane's Bicycles, did when suddenly faced with competition from two national outlets. Zane's offered each of its 35,000 customers free bicycle maintenance for a year in exchange for the answers to some "relationship questions." The retailer used the information to draw up a profile of each customer, which guides its one-to-one marketing effort. Not only has Zane's held its own against the competition, but its growth has accelerated.
•Talk to your customers in a meaningful way. "Making chat and noise is not what I mean," says Ron Zemke, who has written 25 books on customer service in the last two decades. "I'm talking about getting real feedback. Say to the customer, 'Look me in the eye and tell me the truth.'" But remember that such feedback only becomes valuable when it's acted upon.
•Use technology to extend your reach. An internet presence can be a powerful customer service tool. In addition to using the website to elicit customer feedback, businesses can reach out using email. Entrepreneurs seem to be catching on: A 2001 survey of small-business internet use by the Gallup Organisation found 37% of the 500 companies surveyed had a website, with more than half of this Internet savvy group exchanging daily email with customers.


Create Marketing Materials

Marketing used to be time-consuming and expensive. Now, with the internet and impressive software enhancements, even the smallest small business can reach out to thousands! Find out how to take advantage of these developments and produce your own professional websites, e-newsletters and print collateral.

Hold a competition. This is a great way to get visitors excited about your website and what you do. Consider asking users for feedback, so that it doubles as a market research tool. Prizes don't need to be extravagant, but should be fun and appropriate for your target market.
Know your customers. An understanding of the needs and goals of your clients is the best way to ensure that your marketing efforts are effective. Statistics and tracking reports will help you gauge the interests of visitors to your website. Website usage statistics will help you understand how people come to your site, and what they do once they have arrived. Are they finding what they want, or do certain pages on your site trigger them to leave? Was the contest you ran successful? This understanding will help you hone your online marketing efforts.