Online Marketing Methods?

Here's a great post from my Linked In Group - full of wisdom that can be applied to Adult Family Homes as well as other businesses.  An AFH is a local business - but everyone's looking online first - so creating a web presence is important - but so is being personable in your community.

Here's a great post from my Linked In Group - full of wisdom that can be applied to Adult Family Homes as well as other businesses.  An AFH is a local business - but everyone's looking online first - so creating a web presence is important - but so is being personable in your community. 

LinkedIn Groups

• Group: LDS Professionals
• Subject: New comment (4) on "Need some advice in regard to online marketing."

"What does your market research show? who is your real potential client? what is the likelyhood that they even know that you or your industry exist? If you are just trying to compete in affiliate marketing then all of the above are fine directions to go, but if, as I imagine, you are forge a new industry then no one will be searching for you. If you need to target successful business people, they rarely waste time aimlessly wandering the internet stumbling upon things to implement in their business. Not that they aren't on the net, but that would be leisure, if they are focused on their business, they ignore all the ads and get to the meat that they are directly looking for. You have almost no chance of getting an audience through an ad. Sure, you can claim that a million ads have at least one chance while you could only make 100 phone calls during that time. But I'd bank on having 100 chances of "ME talking to a real person" getting closer to a sale than a million 35 character catch phrases being popped in front of average joe websurfer.

Publishing has value. But that takes work, just like phone calls. I mean real publishing, not mass posting of meaningless rehashings of nothing on many publishing sites, but meaningful detailed explanations, and unique content.

It took about 4 years of doing that before we saw ANY results from it, but now we are getting results. That was a long term investment that we could not have sustained as a start up if that was our only revenue source. 

So, cultivating leads is a great and fulfilling hobby while you "work" but don't expect it to pay off in the near term.

Payoff comes from making sales, so go do that. Make calls, talk directly to the people who are your potential clients. 

If after 100 face to face discussions with your target market you come up blank, then maybe this is not a great market. Wouldn't you rather know that at the end of the week than fond it out after 3 years. Consider what you would have invested.

Not trying to harsh anybodies mellow, but wouldn't it be better to go 100% for a week and find out what the reality is rather than spend months babying up on it?

Now if you are uncomfortable with outbound sales calls, I have 2 suggestions. First get over it and quick, second. Don't make it a sales call.

Why not do a market analysis? Have a survey in hand, ask for the business owners help, and explain what you perceive to be a problem. . . how you think you can solve the problem. . . and ask if they think (because of their wisdom and experience) if it has any traction as a business? Ask for their help in tweeking the model. Ask to see if they think it would be valuable as an online video conference model? Ask them if they could help their employees to overcome accent barriers if that would have an impact on their bottom line, and if so what would it be worth?

You see, most people get into business (I stand firmly in the majority) thinking they know what is good for the market. They don't spend any effort trying to find out what the market would like to see in the market.

Now if you did the survey right, you have gotten real lead (name, address, phone, email) you have personally introduced yourself and they will remember you. You have send them a hand written thank you card. You have all the details that you need to target a marketing effort directly to them. If you asked them what publications they read, so you can determine. . . if you were going to publish informational articles where they would be most effective. You also asked that if you decide to do this would it be okay if you send them an anouncement, and if you do roll it out, would they be willing to attend a free open house?

Start local, because in spite of the fable of the green grass, it is generally not true. There is grass all around us." 
Posted by Richard Fritzler