Running a consulting business does not only entail offering consulting services to clients. To offer your services, first, you need an audience to offer them to. Your target audience is the pool of potential customers you would ideally want to be targeting.
If your target audience is well defined, you have a higher chance of turning those potential customers into paying clients, by leading them down the sales and marketing funnel. Your ideal clients would be the ones offering a steady stream of revenue, month after month.
But what is the right marketing approach when targeting new clients? As a business owner, you may not have enough time to delve deep into every single detail of your business, especially if you are running a one-man gig or a small team.
Digital marketing services
Digital marketing is a good way to approach potential clients. However, Digital Marketing is an umbrella term for a wide variety of services, all aimed at getting more clients and more business through paid ads, social media, and blog posts all through an established marketing strategy.
Digital Marketing can be a cost-effective method to reach audiences and then turn them into a client base. If properly used, it can create opportunities for turning potential leads into the ideal client. Let’s see what Digital Marketing has to offer.
Paid advertising
Paid Advertising can either be done through GoogleEngin or Facebook. Google Ads is one of the most powerful platforms on the market today. It allows the user to create ads that are placed on the Google Search Engine Results Page.
When a user searches for a specific term such as — “consulting company”, “consulting service” or “consultancy businesses” if your Ad is optimized well enough it will appear in the top results of the Search Engine. You also choose to display banner ads on select areas on the web.
Facebook Ads works by targeting users based on demographic characteristics, similar interests, or profile information. You have the liberty of creating a set budget, which will be used to target the audience you selected based on the given parameters.
Social Media
A potential client is everywhere. Social media has the power to organically target prospective clients without the need to directly target them based on parameters. You can create an Instagram or Facebook page where you can share useful information regarding your business.
Sharing tips and tricks on how to find a good consulting firm or sharing stories from successful consultants. This is especially good for a new business as it requires almost no money to get started with, plus creating good content in continuity will allow you to create a good value proposition.
Maintaining professionalism through Social Media and posting valuable content is also good for existing clients. They will continue to see that you put in the effort to help people.
Facebook groups
Utilizing Facebook Groups is great for new leads, especially for small businesses as it doesn’t create a financial burden. Look for groups where people look for help for a problem that could be solved through a consulting firm. Offer to help, and create a good value proposition.
A single post could be the first step towards consulting success. It does sound very simple, but it could help you get consulting clients fast.
A consulting business blog
Creating a blog is also a very good way to get started with a marketing strategy. Setting up a blog is very simple, and can usually be done within a day. Continuously writing blog posts can have certain benefits not visible right away.
When you start researching what to post on your blog, you are consulting clients indirectly while gaining and retaining knowledge on the subjects you write about. This can lead to more consulting clients looking up your blog posts and reading them.
Create a consulting services newsletter
This can easily be combined with the blog you created. When you create a newsletter, and people start to sign up for it, you begin to collect their email addresses automatically. When you collect enough email addresses, you can start advertising your services through email marketing.
You can also collect emails and promote your newsletter through a landing page which can be coupled with paid ads to reach a bigger audience.
Attend industry events
Attending industry events and following industry trends will give you a chance to network with other people, and find potential partners and clients. If you get the opportunity to speak or present at events, it will give you a great chance to promote your consulting business.
Spending time at industry events, networking, and presenting, over time you can establish yourself through thought leadership. Other consultants also attend these events which will allow you to create content partnerships and even do an elevator pitch to an authority in the consulting business.
Communicating with industry experts can even lead to strategic partnerships if you meet the right person.
Create a referral program
Current clients can be a great source of a chance to reach new customers. Always let your clients know when you are looking for referrals. People are much more likely to trust and approach a consultant if they’ve heard a positive review from a person they know.
You could offer a certain discount for each new referral they bring into the business. For example: for each person, they recommend the business to, and if the person becomes a paying customer they could get a 2.5% discount every month.
A referral program offers you the opportunity to gain instant credibility because word-of-mouth is one of the strongest marketing tools on the market. As an added bonus, it works great as social proof that people recognize, and respect the business.
Cold calling
Even though cold calling sounds old-fashioned, it still works to an extent. A good approach is to try it with your family and friends first. Call them and offer your services. If the people in your inner circle are willing to share their contacts you could expand your cold calling circle.
Remember not to spam people with calls, and not to be too pushy. This could have a negative effect, and ruin your reputation before you even begin.
