Nonprofits please note

Attention nonprofits: this used to be the last week you could credibly drop a mailing with a year- end donor ask. Now, you can go right up to Christmas, and beyond, with e-mail, Facebook and mobile. And well you should.

The End of E-Mail?

An executive at a large web services-providing company recently remarked to me, almost casually, that "E-mail is over." What he meant was, his company and all the other big players are focusing heavily on the future they see coming: content and messaging for mobile devices. E-mail from computer to computer? That's over and done with, in these guys' minds. Since we all eventually follow where they go, I'm just sending out a heads-up here.

A Time to Sell, A Time To Tell

It's Friday eve at a busy airport and I arrive breathlessly, hoping I'm not late and wishing for once my flight will be DELAYED so I won't miss it.
Racing to the departures board, I start frantically to search through eight screens of flights to find the gate and time for mine.
As I search for the New York flght, the whole &^%$* eight-screen display blinks, goes blank, then shifts to...a gorgeous photo mosaic of the city I am in.
Thanks, Chamber of Commerce! This is totally NOT what I need right now. I am angry and frustrated as precious seconds tick away and I await the departure data to return. By the time it does, I now suddenly hate the entire city of Chicago for doing this to me.

This is so how NOT to market. Here's the analogy to our real world lives: You have to know when people are coming to you (your website, your office, calling you) because they need information and guidance RIGHT NOW. And you have to know when they are in receptive mode for listening and responding to your "sell message." Fortunately this is easy to do. You just have to listen and observe for 30 seconds, and it's clear.

There's a time for everything - a time to sell, a time to listen, a time to advise. Consumer product companies and commodity-type services can get away with being in-your-face-all-the-time, but professional services and nonprofits cannot. We have to sit at a higher plane to earn the market's respect and attention. Know when it's time to sell and when it's time to tell.

What to Do Now

Reach out regularly to your referral sources, prospects, clients. Once a week if you can. No sell message, just a slice of you, however you choose to define that. They like/buy you because you are you. Just give them some you. By email, blog, mail, Facebook or Twitter. Just stay out there so you are on their minds.

How Can I Make Marketing Easy For Me To Do?

Step 1, as in the post below, is keep it simple and easy. Small pieces like emails, postcards, one-page snailmails.

Step 2 is to write just a few simple sentences about something timely,new, upcoming that you know and your prospects and clients/customers should know. 2-3 sentences, that's it. Enough to show them your marketing pieces have valuable information.

Step 3 is to invite them to contact you if they would like to know more. Or to pass the info on to their friends who need to know.

Step 4 is to do this at least once a month.

It's really that simple. Are you telling me there aren't 12 things a year you know that your clients don't? You wouldn't still be in business if that were the case.

What To Do & How - Why A Professional Service Is Different

You can market a product with clever or funny or gimmicky materials/messages.But when people hire a professional to do a service, they are buying a relationship with YOU. They need to trust you, see that you possess expertise, and value that expertise. Is anything about that funny or gimmicky?)

Last of all, they need to remember you -- because they may be hiring or referring you next month, when they need your services.

To tackle the last item first -- remembering -- you have to remember something yourself. To send out emails, postcards, letters, or something that works for you, on a regular basis. You can't do it once a year, or once a season, and hope they'll remember you when the time comes. They won't.

To win their trust and showcase your expertise, you have to send short emails, postcards, letters, etc not that SAY you are great, but that SHOW it. The way you do that is you showcase and share little bits of your knowledge.

What To Do - And How To Do It

To market and grow a smaller professional practice of any kind is different than marketing a product, or a bigger organization. It takes some smart thinking, to avoid spending too much or wasting what you spend. But I'm here to say it can be done.

It starts with understanding how you're different and what you need to do.
These are the questions that you have to ask, understand and answer in order to get something done. Future posts will take these questions on, one at a time.

1) Why do I have to market a professional service differently than a product?

2) Just how do I do that in a way that is easy, common sense and do-able for you?

3) Why do so many professionals seem to struggle when it comes to marketing, and is there an easier way?

4) How can professionals and service providers cut through the clutter to get noticed?

5) How can I do that on a recession-sized budget so it doesn't hurt financially?

6) How can I do something effective to accelerate growth - without spending a bundle on consultants, marketing agencies and other vendors?

7) What are the specific strategies I can use to make something happen with my practice growth?

Those are the questions. The answers will follow in this space over coming weeks...