Marketing a service-based business
When you’ve got a product to sell, things feel relatively
straight forward. People can see what your product is, you can describe it to
them, they can touch it, hold it, decide whether it’s the right one for them,
and whether it is value for money. But what if the thing you’re selling isn’t a
thing at all? What if the product you’re selling is a service, based on nothing
but your skill, time, and effort?
If what you’re offering isn’t an object, then the way you
sell and market is entirely different. Whether you’re a designer, a writer, a coach,
a beauty therapist, or a financial advisor, you really have your work cut out
in convincing people that your service is a) something your clients need; and
b) worth your clients’ money.
But how do you do that?
Don’t sell
I think, in general, marketing has changed a lot over the
past decade or so. The internet and in particular social media have altered the
way we see the world, and the way we talk to each other. People no longer
respond to simply being sold to. We are now more knowledgeable, more savvy, and
it’s so much easier for us to research products and services before we part
with our money.
If you consider TV ads as an example, very few of them, if
any, are directly asking you to buy the product they are advertising. Instead,
they are telling a story. They are appealing to your emotions. They are
building a relationship with you based on you trusting their brand.
And that’s what marketing is based on – relationships.
Social interaction. Emotional selling. And trust.
Show what you can do
It’s a good idea to find ways to prove you are good at what
you do, so that people who are thinking about using your service can see that
you have a reliable track record. One of the best ways to do this is to show
off what you’ve done before. You can create a portfolio of work, gather
testimonials from past clients, give measurable results of how you’ve helped
clients with your services, or get reviews on your website or on places like
Freeindex.
If people are able to see what kind of results you’ve got
for others, they are more likely to trust you to get those same results for
them.
Fill a need
When you’re selling a service, it’s important that you think
about your customers needs before our own. That means talking about them, and
not about you. For example, if you’re a financial advisor, you don’t want to write
a log boring post about what you do. People aren’t interested in that. Instead,
they want to hear that you can solve their problems. In order to do that, you
need to know what their problems are, and then work on telling them how you can
take those problems away.
“We are an award winning financial advisory service, we offer
multiple wealth management options as well as pensions advise…” Blah – not interested.
However…
“As you get older, it’s natural that you start to worry
about how your loved ones will cope when you’re gone. If you’d like to talk to an
expert about your pension, savings, or investments, we are just a phone call
away. Don’t leave your family’s future to chance. Speak to us today.”
Which one would you go for?
OK, here’s another…
“Gel nails just £25 – offer only during November!” No thanks,
I’ll get my mate Trina to do it.
Or…
“Christmas party season is just around the corner, and we
know that you’ll want to look your best. So for a limited time, you can come to
us for a full professional gel set, while you relax with a free glass of bubbly
– all for just £25 for November only.” Free bubbly AND a discount? I’m there,
where do I sign??
You see, in both cases, we’re showing the customer the
benefit for them. They’re not interested in us, they want us to fill a need, so
we have to show them how we can do that.
Call to action
Make things easy – your job is to do everything you can to
get your customers to sign up for your service. So once you’ve given them the information
they need, don’t give them an excuse to leave. Tell them, in no uncertain
terms, what you want them to do – buy your service. “Call us on 123456”, “Click
here to download”, “Fill in your details here and we’ll call you back” “Book
now”.
I hope that’s inspired you – selling a service can be tough,
but if you know what you’re doing, and you do it consistently, you will see
results!