If you’re new to the world of marketing and promoting what you are doing, then there is a good chance that you actually don’t really understand how crucial and time consuming good strategic marketing actually is. That being said the process can be a stimulating and rewarding part of developing your own consulting business.
There are a few things that you should be thinking about when you’re building up your business. And the first I’d like to discuss is the importance of developing a solid marketing plan. The first thing you’re going to want to do is list all the different methods in note form that you are thinking about using in order to get the word out about your consultancy.
You can list things like webs sites, blogs, magazines, press releases, etc. Don’t limit yourself at this stage and worry about financial constraints or if you think it’s in your knowledge or skill set to handle something. Remember everything can be achieved with effort, time, and money. At this point you just want to first get the key ideas down on paper.
After you have done the initial brainstorming it’s time to start developing a more refined plan of action. This is where you’ll consider things like your marketing budget, what parts you can do yourself and what parts of the plan you may want to outsource, as well as goals in terms of time line and what you want to have achieved in different stages. Remember a marketing plan can and should be dynamic. Change is good and strategic. Nothing needs to be set in stone but it’s important to have this plan for your consulting business to succeed.
After you have developed your plan you should spend some time and money developing your consulting brand. So many companies that I have dealt with in the past overlook the area of visual identity and brand design when starting new companies. Your interactions with new potential clients and the community are crucial so don’t skip the branding step.
Consider things like logo design, set up a professional looking website or blog, and make sure you have yourself some nice business cards printed as well. You can have the previous mentioned done up professionally these days for under a thousand dollars and let me tell you that it will be well worth your investment.
Lastly, make sure you spend time networking and building your relationships. This includes on and offline networking. Locally you should be going to events, business breakfasts, meeting with local companies in the consulting industry, and also letting all your current friends and contacts know what you are into. In the online world you need to start reading and interacting with blogs in the same or related industries, and also using the power of social media to build contacts.
On a parting note I just want to mention something about consulting success. If you want to actually grow your business it doesn’t matter how talented you are. If you don’t get out there and do marketing nothing will happen and money won’t flow.