Is your business a HOBBY or a LEGACY

There are many GOOD businesses out there. Ones that pay bills and put food on the table for their families. 99% of these businesses rely on referrals to grow, which is a testament to their service. Being able to pay for your monthly expenses, buy groceries each week and using your skills to make money is a feeling that can’t be beat. Eating what you kill in it’s best form.

But does this kind of business allow you to take off work for family vacations?

Does this model allow you to plan for the addition of employees?

Does it allow for your company to expand into more towns and into a larger market area?

Owning a business can tend to operate as a glorified hobby OR you can pivot and make changes now by planning for sustainability. By implementing these tips below, you can position yourself into predictable, long term lead acceleration.

WEBSITE:

Not only is your website a first impression about your company but it also serves as a data hub for gathering information about your current and future customers. By tracking its analytics and adding a pixel to your page header, you can use the traffic to retarget to warm leads. Statistics show that 85% of customers research a business online before they purchase. I cannot tell you the number of times we work with companies that had their brother’s friend’s nephew-ish (you know the drill) that knew how to make a website…and you can always 100% tell! Don’t take the short cuts, even if your budget is tight. Invest with someone who actually knows what they are doing and it will pay for itself in the first month of going live.

EMAIL LIST:

Put all those business cards and networking contacts to good use and upload them into an email list. There are several free email services out there that allow you to build campaigns and track response rates to your content. On average, it takes someone 44 days from the first contact touch point to commit to buying a service or product. Email is a free way to set up a long term nurture or create a single email blast for a special offer.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

If social media is NOT in your marketing strategy, you are missing out on the largest platforms in the world! Each platform has a specific purpose.  Content should be specific for each platform based on business product/service and goals. Avoid being “sale-sy” and focus on building the relationship and brand.

PAID TRAFFIC:

Paid traffic via Facebook or Google ads is the single fastest way currently to scale a business. [check out prior blog about how I grew my business 900% in my first year] Audiences on Facebook and Google are very different. Think about your audience on Facebook scrolling through their phones in a leisurely way for mind numbing entertainment. The Google audience is more of a specific, time sensitive search because people are needing a service right away. If you haven’t done any Facebook paid ads (not including BOOSTing…don’t even get me started), then you need to have a minimum budget of $10/day for a 50 mile radius to be able to see a ROI worth your while. To really scale, budget $40/day and then you will be able to use a retargeting strategy. 

For questions, email brie@elkmediaco.com.