Interacting with Our Customers

Okay, so now I know my value proposition and customer segments. 0:00 Now I need to think about my channels. 0:04 How do I get ahold of my customer? 0:08 In our previous videos, we broke down the channels into five steps. 0:10 Let's do the same. 0:14 The first step is awareness. 0:16 How should I raise awareness of my services? 0:18 I define my customer as someone with no online presence. 0:21 So I think I should focus on reaching them through some traditional methods. 0:25 I can place ads at the local small business administration or 0:29 Chamber of Commerce. 0:32 And that might work, but how often does someone go into their Chamber of Commerce? 0:33 A better strategy might be to attend local events where I 0:38 could find my ideal customer. 0:40 Or even better yet, go directly to their place of business. 0:42 This might seem cumbersome and I, for one, 0:46 hate cold calling, but when starting out, you have to build your network somewhere. 0:48 I'm also going to go through some more modern channels like Google Ads to try and 0:53 target those customers that may look online. 0:57 Next, I need to let my customers evaluate [SOUND] my value proposition so 1:00 that they can make a decision. 1:04 My best option is to build a really good portfolio page that highlights some of 1:06 the other work I've done. 1:11 Since I'm entering the market for the first time, I'm going to reach out to 1:12 my existing network and build a website for friends so I can showcase my skills. 1:16 And the next step in this channel is [SOUND] delivery. 1:22 How am I going to get my clients the final product? 1:25 Taking my typical customer into account, I don't think they'll be able to 1:28 handle anything on the web, given their lack of experience. 1:32 So I think I'll handle delivery. 1:35 And by that, I mean getting the website online and doing all the hosting. 1:37 Come to think of it, if I'm going to do all that, I should be consistent and 1:41 add that to my value proposition. 1:45 So in addition to designing and 1:48 implementing websites, my value proposition will include hosting, 1:49 maintenance, and any other delivery or post-purchase service. 1:53 Now that I have defined my value proposition, my typical customer and 1:58 the ways I can reach them, I should be able to define my customer relationships. 2:02 In our previous videos, 2:07 we also broke down customer relationships to a few different types. 2:09 The first was regarding acquisition [SOUND] strategies. 2:13 Or in more simple speak, our marketing ideas. 2:16 We kind of went over them briefly when we discussed our channels and 2:19 where we could find our typical customer. 2:22 This is more about specific strategies we have. 2:25 In my case, the most reliable marketing strategy is word of mouth and 2:29 personal connections, so that's where I am going to focus most of my efforts, 2:33 getting out there, meeting people and establishing my name. 2:37 There are many indirect ways I could do this than just plastering ads. 2:41 I could talk at local events. 2:45 I could run workshops and 2:46 even take on projects that lead to client introductions in the future. 2:48 Next, we have retention [SOUND] activities. 2:52 Keeping existing clients happy is a very important part of your business. 2:55 You can make it your strategy to keep finding new clients, but 2:59 that's very time consuming. 3:03 So I'm going to spend a decent amount of time making sure 3:05 my existing clients are happy. 3:08 This ties in with host purchase support. 3:11 If I maintain their websites, I can both keep them happy and charge them for 3:14 the service, thereby having an additional steady stream of 3:18 revenue from each existing client that I add on. 3:21 Since I don't plan to have tons of clients, 3:25 I can provide personal assistance to each, but I have to go about it carefully. 3:28 Rules need to be laid down about what additional requests would mean in terms of 3:33 time and money. 3:37 Thinking through these things before they happen ensures that I won't be caught off 3:39 guard and out of a lot of money. 3:43 If I take care of my existing customers, well, 3:46 that offers me chances to up-sell other services in down times. 3:49 Maximizing [SOUND] revenue from existing customers is my endgame. 3:53 And I can do that in many different ways, like providing logo design, 3:56 helping with marketing and SEO, and designing them email newsletters. 4:00 Remember, I said these were things I did as well, but rather than overload my 4:05 value proposition, I can up-sell these activities if the client is happy. 4:09