1 00:00:00,730 --> 00:00:04,380 Okay, so now I know my value proposition and customer segments. 2 00:00:04,380 --> 00:00:06,180 Now I need to think about my channels. 3 00:00:08,260 --> 00:00:10,790 How do I get ahold of my customer? 4 00:00:10,790 --> 00:00:14,730 In our previous videos, we broke down the channels into five steps. 5 00:00:14,730 --> 00:00:15,300 Let's do the same. 6 00:00:16,470 --> 00:00:18,420 The first step is awareness. 7 00:00:18,420 --> 00:00:21,400 How should I raise awareness of my services? 8 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,010 I define my customer as someone with no online presence. 9 00:00:25,010 --> 00:00:29,280 So I think I should focus on reaching them through some traditional methods. 10 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,140 I can place ads at the local small business administration or 11 00:00:32,140 --> 00:00:33,700 Chamber of Commerce. 12 00:00:33,700 --> 00:00:38,180 And that might work, but how often does someone go into their Chamber of Commerce? 13 00:00:38,180 --> 00:00:40,965 A better strategy might be to attend local events where I 14 00:00:40,965 --> 00:00:42,980 could find my ideal customer. 15 00:00:42,980 --> 00:00:46,800 Or even better yet, go directly to their place of business. 16 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:48,680 This might seem cumbersome and I, for one, 17 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,790 hate cold calling, but when starting out, you have to build your network somewhere. 18 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,380 I'm also going to go through some more modern channels like Google Ads to try and 19 00:00:57,380 --> 00:01:00,360 target those customers that may look online. 20 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,699 Next, I need to let my customers evaluate [SOUND] my value proposition so 21 00:01:04,699 --> 00:01:06,594 that they can make a decision. 22 00:01:06,594 --> 00:01:11,146 My best option is to build a really good portfolio page that highlights some of 23 00:01:11,146 --> 00:01:12,765 the other work I've done. 24 00:01:12,765 --> 00:01:16,925 Since I'm entering the market for the first time, I'm going to reach out to 25 00:01:16,925 --> 00:01:21,280 my existing network and build a website for friends so I can showcase my skills. 26 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,222 And the next step in this channel is [SOUND] delivery. 27 00:01:25,222 --> 00:01:27,760 How am I going to get my clients the final product? 28 00:01:28,830 --> 00:01:32,220 Taking my typical customer into account, I don't think they'll be able to 29 00:01:32,220 --> 00:01:35,700 handle anything on the web, given their lack of experience. 30 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:37,660 So I think I'll handle delivery. 31 00:01:37,660 --> 00:01:41,930 And by that, I mean getting the website online and doing all the hosting. 32 00:01:41,930 --> 00:01:45,620 Come to think of it, if I'm going to do all that, I should be consistent and 33 00:01:45,620 --> 00:01:48,010 add that to my value proposition. 34 00:01:48,010 --> 00:01:49,640 So in addition to designing and 35 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:53,760 implementing websites, my value proposition will include hosting, 36 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:58,370 maintenance, and any other delivery or post-purchase service. 37 00:01:58,370 --> 00:02:02,420 Now that I have defined my value proposition, my typical customer and 38 00:02:02,420 --> 00:02:06,590 the ways I can reach them, I should be able to define my customer relationships. 39 00:02:07,730 --> 00:02:09,270 In our previous videos, 40 00:02:09,270 --> 00:02:13,500 we also broke down customer relationships to a few different types. 41 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:16,269 The first was regarding acquisition [SOUND] strategies. 42 00:02:16,269 --> 00:02:19,392 Or in more simple speak, our marketing ideas. 43 00:02:19,392 --> 00:02:22,874 We kind of went over them briefly when we discussed our channels and 44 00:02:22,874 --> 00:02:25,900 where we could find our typical customer. 45 00:02:25,900 --> 00:02:29,390 This is more about specific strategies we have. 46 00:02:29,390 --> 00:02:33,200 In my case, the most reliable marketing strategy is word of mouth and 47 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:37,520 personal connections, so that's where I am going to focus most of my efforts, 48 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,370 getting out there, meeting people and establishing my name. 49 00:02:41,370 --> 00:02:45,430 There are many indirect ways I could do this than just plastering ads. 50 00:02:45,430 --> 00:02:46,890 I could talk at local events. 51 00:02:46,890 --> 00:02:48,330 I could run workshops and 52 00:02:48,330 --> 00:02:51,640 even take on projects that lead to client introductions in the future. 53 00:02:52,860 --> 00:02:55,069 Next, we have retention [SOUND] activities. 54 00:02:55,069 --> 00:02:59,709 Keeping existing clients happy is a very important part of your business. 55 00:02:59,709 --> 00:03:03,076 You can make it your strategy to keep finding new clients, but 56 00:03:03,076 --> 00:03:05,300 that's very time consuming. 57 00:03:05,300 --> 00:03:08,320 So I'm going to spend a decent amount of time making sure 58 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:09,950 my existing clients are happy. 59 00:03:11,100 --> 00:03:14,280 This ties in with host purchase support. 60 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,600 If I maintain their websites, I can both keep them happy and charge them for 61 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,880 the service, thereby having an additional steady stream of 62 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:24,640 revenue from each existing client that I add on. 63 00:03:25,690 --> 00:03:28,430 Since I don't plan to have tons of clients, 64 00:03:28,430 --> 00:03:33,560 I can provide personal assistance to each, but I have to go about it carefully. 65 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,490 Rules need to be laid down about what additional requests would mean in terms of 66 00:03:37,490 --> 00:03:39,080 time and money. 67 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:43,470 Thinking through these things before they happen ensures that I won't be caught off 68 00:03:43,470 --> 00:03:46,100 guard and out of a lot of money. 69 00:03:46,100 --> 00:03:49,030 If I take care of my existing customers, well, 70 00:03:49,030 --> 00:03:53,232 that offers me chances to up-sell other services in down times. 71 00:03:53,232 --> 00:03:56,743 Maximizing [SOUND] revenue from existing customers is my endgame. 72 00:03:56,743 --> 00:04:00,843 And I can do that in many different ways, like providing logo design, 73 00:04:00,843 --> 00:04:05,165 helping with marketing and SEO, and designing them email newsletters. 74 00:04:05,165 --> 00:04:09,271 Remember, I said these were things I did as well, but rather than overload my 75 00:04:09,271 --> 00:04:13,390 value proposition, I can up-sell these activities if the client is happy.