BMS Blog: SBS Consulting in the UK

I’ve just been to a marketing seminar all about increasing profits in your business. The day was sponsored by Barclay’s Bank and the guest speaker for the morning was Robert Craven. I’m not normally a great fan of these sorts of events but I was invited by our accountant who seemed rather impressed with what he had heard about Robert.

In fact it turned out to be better than I expected. Robert certainly knows his subject and has a very simple, straightforward way of getting his message across. The main thing that stood out for me though was the return on investment the average business achieves from different types of marketing activity undertaken. Often the least expensive options provide the highest returns. Various surveys and polls have all reached the same conclusions, the top 3 methods of getting new business are face to face meetings, networking events and referrals from others. All 3 of these options are at the cheap end of marketing activity.

Think about where your last 10 customers came from. I’m willing to bet the majority came from the above methods or derivatives of them. How many came from more expensive marketing exercises like advertising in Yellow Pages, trade papers or a radio campaign?

Of course you have to spend money on your website, direct marketing campaigns, maybe even exhibitions etc. to get your brand awareness on to the radar of your prospective customers but are we being misled by all those people telling us we “must do this” and “we must do that” to get new business? Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate what actually gets us the business in the real world.

Let’s not forget most of our customers are themselves small businesses and they aren’t looking to buy a product off the shelf from us, they need to engage with someone they can trust to provide a solution to their problems, and not a one-shot fix but an ongoing partnership which will benefit both parties for years to come. Is that the sort of person who is going to pick up the Yellow Pages? Probably not, but if they happen to mention their IT issues to someone at a breakfast meeting who says “we use xyz company and they do a great job for us” half your work is already done for you and it hasn’t cost you a penny!

Take a look around at what is available in your local area. Join a referral group like the BNI. Sign up to your local SBS User Group (new business can just as easily come from your peers and other Microsoft Partners). Start going to local events and get your name around. Join the local Golf Club – you may well be amazed at the return on investment.