Ever think of your business in terms of sowing seeds (marketing), tending to needs (customer care), and reaping the benefits (invoicing for services provided)? There are many fruits to be gathered from the labors of operating your business.
Sowing the Seeds of Marketing
Being an online business presents us with many opportunities to sow marketing seeds. Some of the more popular online options include: eZines, social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+), mailing lists, blogging, and article marketing. Secondary lower level marketing includes networking for name recognition, forum participation, and joint venture partnerships.
Regardless of which type of marketing you choose it must connect with your target market to be impactful and memorable. Not all customers are attracted to the same types of marketing mediums so remember the golden rule: Know thy customer – their likes, the solutions they seek, their trigger points, the items that are meaningful to them. Always, always market with these things in mind.
Tending Customer Cares
One of the greatest reassurances to a customer is knowing they are in good hands. Knowing that you’re reliable, knowledgeable, and capable of performing the tasks you say you will, in the time period promised.
Work hard to practice timely communication and request the same in return. Together it will feel as if you’re working down the hall from one another and work will flow seamless from their business to yours.
Should an issue arise act promptly to work out a resolution that is mutually satisfactory for you each. The customer is not always right as the old cliché says but must always be treated fairly and with respect even if you disagree.
Reaping the Benefits
Invoicing. Something every virtual assistant looks forward to doing following the completion of a project or at the end of the month. It feels good to know your hard work has benefitted your customers and that their timely payment allows you capital to reinvest in your business. Investing in learning courses, certifications, updated software, updated technology, conferences and the like strengthens the foundations of your business readying you for continued growth. It’s a wonderful cycle that as virtual assistants we can experience month after month, project after project. Now, that’s a nice return on sowing some marketing seeds.