Are you looking to fine tune your client servicing skills? For many, finding new clients is the ultimate goal – who doesn’t get a kick from winning new business? Here we discuss some techniques for building out your new business contacts and finding that next win.
Use Social Media as a Forum
If you were looking to contact more brand designers, perhaps all you need to do is ask. Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook can be fantastic forums to ask questions and glean a response from designers. For example, if you were to create a dummy brand called “Fresh” and ask the design community to email their ideas for a logo design – you may well get lots of eager designers pitching to you. In the same breath, you find some template logos and ask people to customise them and send them in for a prize, some may be incentivised to give it a go.
Switching on social media is a great way to engage with people, gather data and stumble upon some sharp ideas.
Content Partnerships
There are plenty of businesses that use freebies to draw in new clients and contacts which is great if it fits your brand. However what about offering free marketing for your clients? You’ll have heard about content partnerships which are joint ventures between brands to create original content or media. But why not get more personal and target the c-suite individuals you’ve been dying to work with? Pick the top 5 business owners you want to work with and offer to do a content piece about them, interview them or ask them to speak at an event you are launching. By doing so you are offering them a platform to promote their personal portfolio as well as their business, while creating a relationship with a new client (and creating great content for you!) Win Win.
Ask for feedback
What do your existing clients really think of you? Could you be more proactive or offer an alternative service? By asking those already working with you, you’re not only reconnecting with existing clients, but also obtaining useful feedback on your customer service. When you’ve assessed your clients’ satisfaction you can then determine if they would recommend you to others and begin to broaden your reach. There’s no better way to expand your client list than a referral.
Scan your business cards
There’s still a place for business cards; in your database! Although, if you’re anything like me you will have stacks of cards building up in a draw that’s only ever opened when another BC is going in. That’s all about to change.
CamCard is a business card scanning app that easily extracts the information, organises contacts and also enables you to extract and use the data.
Search smart
Email addresses are an online currency that many don’t know how to find or use. The best way to find email addresses is the simplest. Firstly, if you know the name of the person and organisation of the business you want to target, why not search Google it? For example, if you want to contact Ben You and know his business is called Me Me Me – search for terms like “@mememe” or “me me me contact email”. You will probably find the correct email formations for that business, such as info@mememe.com or even firtname.lastname@mememe.com. Therefore, you’ll know that you should try ben.you@mememe.com.
You can use tools like Sidekick to verify your email addresses.
Wine and Dine
Get out from behind your computer. There is no better way to sell your business than you! Leave your desk behind, go and mingle where your target market might be (events, workshops, talks), book face to face meetings, or why not take some potential clients for a coffee or lunch to understand their business needs. Many business deals are made over the dinner table, when everyone feels relaxed. So get out there and enjoy the process of making connections.
We offer many opportunities for client service professionals working across all parts of the creative industries. If you’re an Account Director or Business Development Manager in London, Berlin or Asia, looking to branch out, speak with one of our consultants today.
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