According to a recent Broadridge survey analyzing consulting data from 2021-2022, the average cost per lead for winning new business increased by 3.3%, while the number of additional requests from inbound leads fell by 16%. Well what does that mean? It just means it's now harder to get new leads and more expensive to close new businesses than before. The survey also found that consultants with a marketing strategy hired an average of 41 clients over the past 12 months, compared to just 17 for companies without a marketing strategy.
No matter where you stand in relation to big data, the best thing you can do as a consultant is make a strategic marketing engagement. Since there are countless elements to a marketing strategy, I want to share three key points to consider in your efforts to win new business in 2023 and beyond.
1. Impression reach, frequency and budget
First, let's look at the main areas where your customers and prospects will interact with your business. Note...this is your website.
Your website is your digital storefront, it's open 24/7 and should serve as a hub for on-demand educational content that showcases your brand. Therefore, you need a physical plan and a financial commitment to ensure you have the right foundation, functionality, and content on your website. Most importantly, this plan includes how to drive users to your website in a systematic way. If you think about your website in this context, you may realize that you need to update your website or a brand new website. So consider this as part of your marketing efforts and budget, whether in 2023 or beyond.
By using your prospect and customer database, you can drive highly profitable traffic to your website. Commit to a well thought-out weekly email rhythm for your customers and prospects. Then consider other ways subscribers can interact with your business through SMS marketing and possibly sophisticated automated email series.
To add fuel to the fire for existing database members and potential new leads, you should evaluate the digital advertising space you are using. Google View is an effective tool to drive quality web traffic to your website or website. landing page. Google Remarketing is an essential tool for tracking all of your website visitors and keeping your brand front and center. Additionally, Facebook maintains more than 50 active (and growing) wealthy users on the platform. The same goes for LinkedIn, and you should consider using it for more niche audiences and topics that may be more in line with your specialty services. Video and YouTube provide another avenue and pool of potential customers to grab the attention of online users and engage with your business and website.
Radio and TV programs are also platforms that you can use for more reach, frequency and impressions in your target market. Either way, make sure you have a welcoming place to send leads and multiple mechanisms to find the best leads.
2. Coherent brand messaging plan with USPs
Once you've mastered the first step, you've created a place to welcome people and a variety of ways to engage them. Now it's time to focus on communicating effectively with these users. This can be one of the most difficult commitments you can make as there is no monetary element involved. On the contrary, communication will be successful when it communicates who you represent, how you want to be perceived, and ultimately how you can improve the lives of the people you are trying to reach.
For every email you send, every article you publish and every digital ad you run, ask yourself, “What does this mean to me?” in the voice of the person you want to speak to you ask. While you'd like to think it's all about you and your business, it's not. These are your existing base of customers and prospects and the new target customers you want to reach. Therefore, it is all about how, in their eyes, you stand out in the crowded market . Try creating a content calendar for yourself so you can keep a record (by week or month) of what topics you're covering, where it's going, and who you're marketing to. These marketing communication principles are the tools to communicate about your company and your unique selling proposition. Make sure they stand out, resonate, and yet are easily digestible for the end consumer.
3. Set reasonable expectations with metrics/KPIs
Think about your most recent annual client meetings (good and bad) or your potential first meetings. Your prospects are likely to want superior returns on their investments, know when the market is going up and down, never have to worry about their money for the rest of their lives, and have more planning time. But are they useful? Unfair? It could be somewhere in between, and that's where you and your unique business come in.
When evaluating your marketing efforts, it's important to have data and information to help you determine what's working and what's not. You also want to make sure your expectations match your pitch. If you read these three important letters, I hear you saying: ROI. Some aspects of your investment expectations will stabilize and become clear to you. However, other aspects of ROI are variable and sometimes more difficult to interpret. Between these two aspects, some marketing campaigns will be immediate or short-term, such as: a live dinner, while others will be longer term, such as B. Top-of-the-funnel through brand awareness campaigns. In any case, make sure that you define KPIs and benchmark checks. Keep in mind that some things will work for you and some things may take a year or two before you really know enough to decide what works and what doesn't.
Consider diversifying as you conduct your marketing efforts in 2023 and beyond. Your customers surely like having multiple sources of income for their retirement, and your company's marketing strategy should be no different. Multiple ways to connect with customers and prospects, and multiple tools to communicate with your audience will put your business on the path to future growth and success.
Mike Schaffman is vice president of sales and marketing at Lone Beacon.
