How to Get New Clients? Getting Leads Is Just the Start!

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Dr. K

How are you doing with getting new clients? You know you need to get new ones all the time, to make up for those that fade away, for all sorts of reasons…

Why would they fade away? Well, some of them literally move away, and others have changing needs and preferences. Who knows.

Maybe the regular who showed up almost every week at your Italian restaurant now is into sushi or Chinese food, or maybe Thai. Who knows.

It’s a fact of life though that you have to refill your funnel of leads and turn them into clients on an ongoing basis. So how do you do that?

First, you need to get more leads. That’s the topic for another post (or you can go look in some of the older ones on getting more traffic).

And then, you have to actually capture those leads and turn them into clients.

All too many business owners skip those two steps. They have a website, and people visit that website, but then, they either appear on their doorstep or they don’t.

Unfortunately, those who don’t tend to be in the majority, but with a little extra effort you might have been able to capture their info and follow up with them, turning them into clients or customers too, sooner or later.

So here’s the key. Getting those people to your website cost you enough already, especially if you’ve done any kind of paid advertising, including Google’s Adwords.

Why not get the most bang for your buck and actually get their contact info so you can follow up. All it takes is a customer capture mechanism that allows you to preprogram a series of email messages that will be sent to them automatically in regular intervals.

And those messages are tempting enough to get them to open their email and read them.

That means, go easy on the sales pitches and provide value instead. Whether that’s tips or coupons or a combination of both, you’ll find that you’ll get a much better response than if you just tell them to come to your store already.

And of course, if you want some help with setting up such a system, I’ll be happy to help. Just request a complimentary website review at the top right of this site, whether you have a website or not. If you don’t have one yet, we can fix that fast.

After all, people still let their fingers do the walking, except now, they tend to walk on their keyboard, checking out what Google has to say, as they look for whatever it is they want.

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New Leads and Clients for 2011

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Dr. K

How’s 2011 going for you so far? I have a really good feeling for this year. Of course, it does require some action to make it into the best year yet…

And some of those actions have to do with getting new leads and clients. So what are YOU doing to get more leads and clients?

I’m going to share a few strategies that will help make that happen.

1) Make sure your prospects can find you on Google

That’s right. If they can’t find you when they’re looking for your services, your potential clients will go to your competitors. Ouch!

So what can you do? A LOT of things. For starters, make sure you can be found on page 1 for your major keywords.

Not sure what I mean by “keywords”?

Here it is in a nutshell. Consider how people would search for your products and services on Google…

If you’re an Italian restaurant, they’ll probably look for something like “Italian restaurant Richmond”. Okay, now type that into Google and see where you come up.

First page? Congratulations.

Nowhere to be found? You’ve got work to do.

This basic principle applies no matter what you do. If you’re a personal injury attorney, you better try to rank for “personal injury attorney Richmond” or whatever your location may be.

if you’re a plumber, you want to be found when people look for “Richmond plumber” or “plumber in Richmond” — preferably both.

If they can’t find you, they won’t hire you.

Need help? Just get your FREE website evaluation and I’ll give you some pointers and tell you want it takes to rank for those keywords.

2) Get out there

Here’s what happens when you really get yourself out there:

It’s great if people find your website, but you can maximize your results by creating more ways for people to find you. Here are just a few examples:

a) Twitter

That’s right! You need a Twitter account, gather followers, and tweet on a regular basis.

Tweet what? How about tips. Or let people know if you have posted something new on your blog. Or have written a new article. Or you’re offering a special.

And don’t forget to be a good citizen. Twitter is a community, so ask and answer questions, retweet or post good resources, and just be a pal.

b) Facebook

Facebook works a lot like Twitter, except that if you want to post offers and such, you better get a “Like” page. That’s what used to be a “fanpage.”

Watch for a post on how to do that in the very near future. In the meantime, just make sure you have a Facebook account and set up a “Page” for your business.

And start posting… (see note on Twitter). In fact, you can set Twitter up to post directly to your Facebook account. Just be careful. Facebook does not take kindly to overposting.

c) Articles

Aaaargh! Yes, I mean it. Write a few articles (or outsource that task) and post them in article directories (you can outsource that too).

I’m a huge fan of article marketing because I see the power of that strategy every day. If you play your cards right, you can accomplish a number of things by doing that, from increasing your visibility, increasing your perceived authority, thereby becoming the go-to person, and yes, you can even increase the rankings for your own website. Very cool.

So if you want to make 2011 the best year yet by increasing your website visitors, your leads, and your revenue, do some or all of the above.

d) Get help

And don’t forget to request your FREE website evaluation by signing up for one at the top right of this page and then replying to the email you get.

Looking forward to helping you boost your business.

Elisabeth

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Online Marketing for Real Estate Agents

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Dr. K

Online Marketing for Real Estate Agents is a must these days. Whether you’re helping your clients sell, buy, or both, you will benefit greatly by building a presence and a following online.

Sure, most people don’t buy real estate more than once every few years — at most, but you’ll still benefit by building relationships with your potential clients.

Remember, they know other people, and those other people might be looking for homes. It’s all about growing your circle of influence, and you’re probably doing plenty of that by way of networking.

But networking online is a whole new ballgame.

Here are a few tips:

Social Media

Yes, you should definitely use social media sites, from Twitter to LinkedIn to Facebook. But don’t stop there.

You Need a Blog

You need to be able to send people somewhere where you can get their contact info and follow up with them. And that means a website or a blog, preferably a website in the form of a blog.

Blogs aren’t just for sharing the minutiae of your life anymore. You can fill yours with information that is valuable to your clients.

Get your visitors’ contact info

But the most important part is that you capture your visitors’ contact information — and with a blog you have a number of options.

You can send your visitors to a so-called Squeeze page first, which is a page that basically gives people two options and only those two options:

Make them give up their contact info or leave.

So how do you get them to give up their contact information? You give them something of value in return. You might write a guide with tips on buying or selling a house. Or how to pick a real estate agent.

Then tell them they’ll get it for FREE if they only pay the “price” of admission, which is their email address and maybe their name as well. Don’t ask for much more than that.

The thing is that more you ask for, the fewer people will sign up. You can always get their phone number later when you offer them free consultations after they’ve had a chance to get to know you.

What to do once they are on your list?

And once you have them on your email list, follow up with them. Provide some value and news of available homes, plus tidbits about legal developments or whatever.

It has to relate to what you do, and it has to be valuable. The rest is up to you.

And if you’d like to find out more about how to market your real estate business online, just sign up for my special report (see top right) and I’ll send you the occasional tip or resource on online marketing for small business.

What you’ll find on MY site and list

Most of the info is not limited to real estate folks, but yo’ll find the down-to-earth instructions for how to get your website found online helpful nonetheless.

How to get targeted traffic

In fact, let me guide you to a different site where I just posted a bunch of “get targeted traffic” tips:

Get Targeted Traffic Galore.

And if you’d like to check out a cool video on how to get traffic, you can get that here:

FREE Traffic Dashboard Video.

FREE Traffic Dashboard Bonus!

Last but not least, you’ll get a FREE online course on how to set up your Facebook Fan Page (now Business Page or “Like” Page) if you invest in the Traffic Dashboard (see video) and send an email to elisabethhelp AT gmail DOT com.

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How to Get New Clients & Customers

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Dr. K

How do you get new clients and customers?

First, you need leads. Targeted leads. And how do you get those?

There are several ways:
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1) You can “buy” them

There are many ways to pay for getting those leads, from all sorts of advertising, from billboards to ads in the paper to pay per click campaigns.

They all have in common that they cost a pretty penny, and you never quite know how much you get. And the worst thing… when you stop paying for those advertisements, the flow of leads and customers stops too.
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2) Referrals

Another way to get leads and new clients and customers is through referrals. Referrals are pretty cool. They basically arrive on your doorstep pre-sold, so you want to get as many referrals as possible.

The problem? How do you get them?

Basically, you need to learn how to get referral partners, also known as strategic partners. Strategic partners are people who send you referrals on a regular basis — and usually vice versa, though not necessarily.

Building referral relationships is really an art form, and it takes quite a bit of time as well. But once you have them they will pay dividends for years to come, provided you treat them well.

To find out more about how to get referrals, you may want to check out this free teleseminar by referral partner expert Sue Clement. CLICK HERE to find out more.

And, by the way, if you missed it, sign up anyway — Sue will send you the audio recording, and I’m sure you will find it very useful.

How to get more targeted leads


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3. Get published online

The third way to get leads and clients is to get published. This doesn’t sound as daunting as you may think, though it does take some skill and/or work.

However, you can also have it done for you. The way it works is that either you or a writer will write articles and get them published online. And not just anywhere online, but in strategic places where people will find your writing — and, convinced of your expertise, will go seek you out.

Those are some of the best targeted leads, much like referrals. They too come essentially presold.

There are some other perks as well. Sign up for the Free consultation and ask me about it…

To your success,

Elisabeth

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Restaurant Email Marketing

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Dr. K

Let me ask you a question…

Would you like more business?

How about more repeat business? Regulars are the life blood of any restaurant business.

The key to getting more of both kinds of business is proper restaurant email marketing. Read on to discover why and how to get started claiming those extra customers.

It’s surprising how many restaurant owners leave money on the table by refusing or neglecting to engage in email marketing. Chances are you are one of them.

Let’s look at how restaurants typically market their business:

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1) Typical Restaurant Marketing Strategies

As a restaurant owner, you probably invest heavily in local advertising, from ads in the Yellow Pages to ads in fliers. Some of them feature coupons, which is helpful, though it might condition potential visitors to wait for the next discount before they visit the restaurant.

Keep reading and discover how you can get a whole lot more mileage out of your coupons!

Many of those ads also include a website address, which is also good.

But once visitors get to your website, you’ll lose most of them right then and there. Why?

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2) The Crucial Next Step (Usually Missing)

Here’s what’s usually missing:

You need to provide a reason for your website visitors to get on your mailing list — and a way to do so.

Any restaurant that does not offer this is leaving a LOT of money on the table. And chances are, so are you.

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3) Why This Step Is So Important

You probably pay a lot to get those visitors to your website, but then you don’t provide a way to follow up with them.

Imagine how much each lead has cost you already. It doesn’t matter how they ended up on your site — you spent money for them to be there.

Whether they found you through your Yellow Pages ad, through an ad in the local paper, through a flier included in a Val-Pak, or through a Pay-per-Click ad, they cost you a pretty penny, or rather several dollars a pop.

So what are you going to do to get some actual value from your investment?

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4) The solution

Get them on your mailing list so you can follow up with them.

Don’t have a mailing list? Don’t know how to go about setting one up and getting your customers to join it?

The good news is that it’s neither hard nor expensive. It can be easily outsourced for pennies on the dollar, considering the dollars you’re losing now. In fact, we at Richmond Web Marketing provide that service.

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5) What you need

You need a three part system:

a) A database where you can store your prospects’ and customers’ contact information

b) A way to collect that contact information

c) A system for following up with your prospects.

And then, of course, you need the actual emails that get people to open and read them (more challenging than you would believe in these days of overflowing inboxes).

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Now here’s the promised tip about those coupons:

If you give people a coupon free and clear, whether on your website or in your ads, they may or may not use them, and if they don’t, they’re gone…

If you give people coupons in exchange for opting in to your newsletter list, you have their contact information and can follow up with them.

It’s a no-brainer, once you think about it.

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Get Your FREE Website Evaluation

To find out how we can help you set this up for you, just fill in your information in the form at the top right of this page, and claim your FREE website evaluation or consultation.

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Not in Richmond? No Problem. We’re happy to help restaurants all across the country.

Posted in Marketing for Restaurants | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment