January 12, 2020 Business, Content Marketing, Sales, Startup

Marvi Torres, Co-Founder, Creative Coconut Ph

I like to do my goal-setting and planning towards the end of the year, instead of in January. The reason is I want to be executing on January 1. If I do all my preparations in January, then I will find myself actually getting to work in February — which means I will have spent an entire month not working towards the revenue that I want, not acquiring the skills that I need, or not delivering the service that will expand the business.

I also like getting a headstart on action items. Some initiatives may take a bit of time so that you can gather the budget and resources — developing a new product, redesigning a website, or hiring a sales guy to open a new territory. So it’s understandable to schedule these launch dates in the second or third quarter of next year. But there are things you can do now to get more business in 2020. And they’re free! 

Sharing with you this list that I hope will help you jumpstart your 2020 strategy. I need to get started on some of these items myself (hence, this blog post). Let me know how you’ll do!

Tell your customers who you are by completing your Facebook page profile

I’ve heard many a business owner say that they’d like to be more present on social media. Yes, content is important, and if you have a lean team, you may need to hire someone to properly create and distribute content online. But here’s something you can do on your own and for free: go to the About section of your Facebook page, and fill in the details. It takes about 15 minutes to do so. Besides, you probably have to update your landline number anyway because of the recent mandate by the Department of Information and Communications Technology. While you’re at it, add your business address, website address, business category, business hours, and a list of products. Customers do check out that page, and having a complete profile not only makes you look more legit, it tells your customers that they came to the right page and, hey, maybe they’d like to know more about your other products and services. Makes you more searchable too.

Then do the same for LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and wherever your customers are.

Ask your friends to like your page

Before you start budgeting for paid ads (which can be expensive), you can increase the audience of your page simply by asking your friends to like and follow it. On the Facebook web application, click the button with 3 dots on your cover page and select “Invite Friends”. You can add a message asking them to also share your page if they still value your friendship or if they know someone who may be interested. This way, when you start posting relevant content, you will have a good, friendly audience base. Then you can think about paid ads.

Blog

Review your direct messages or customer meetings and think of questions that they usually ask. I did an extra step and asked a few of my clients to vote for a blog topic that they would read if they saw it on their feed. What blogs are you following? What podcasts are you listening to? You can take inspiration from your favorite episodes and translate them into something that would apply to your customers. For example, I am a fan of the podcast The Productivity Show. One of the recent episodes is about how you can finish the year strong by creating action items that are executable in the remaining weeks of 2019 and that will contribute to your goals. This blog post aligns with that tactic.

No website or blog? No problem. Facebook and LinkedIn can host your blog posts for free. You can share your posts directly to your contacts in these platforms. Here are some quick ideas:

• FAQs about your product (how to store, clean, repair)
• A favorite book that you apply to make your customer service better
• What 2020 industry trends will you take on in your business

Ask your clients for referrals

At the end of every project, I send a short survey form to my customers to rate my team’s performance, to tell us what we need to keep doing as well as what we can improve on. At the end of the form, I would ask them if they would be willing to recommend us to another company. 

Fortunately, all of whom I have asked have said yes. And I will take them up on it! 

Of course, that I intend to ask for feedback and a referral at the end of the project motivates me to make sure that we deliver excellent service to our customers.

Not one of the initiatives above will make you an overnight success, but the key is to do things consistently. And your strategy on how to be consistent should be part of your 2020 Sales and Marketing business plan. 

Will you be trying out any of the above initiatives? Comments, suggestions, and/or violent reactions are welcome at marvi@creativecoconut.ph. Or drop us a message on our Facebook page @creativecoconutph.