subject: How To Reach Your Customers [print this page] Figuring out how to best reach your customers can often seem like a problem that does not have a clear solution. And the reality is that there is not one solution or one thing that can be done to effectively communicate. To be most effective, you can use a mix of different communications methods.
Cold Calling
There are many that say that cold calling is dead and a waste of time. And while times have changed, there is still a place for using cold calling to connect with potential customers if done correctly.
True - the business environment has changed over the past few decades. There used to be a time when the phone was the only way to reach customers. And there were not things like caller ID and voicemail to stand in your way of connecting. But even though the environment is challenging and there are many different ways to communicate, there is still a time and place for cold calling.
The key with cold calling is to have it as one piece of a larger strategy for trying to reach your customers. If you are treating cold calling as an additional way that reinforces other methods of communicating, and you use effective cold calling tactics, you can see a good return on investment for the time and money invested.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a key tool to use in your bag of tricks when trying to reach your customers. Similar to cold calling, if you only did email marketing by itself, it might not be all that effective. But when you mix it in with other communications methods, it can be a very effective and economical way to communicate.
There are definitely some things that can be done to improve the results of email marketing. Everything from the appearance, sales messaging, and frequency and timing of emails can have a large impact on results.
Social Media
One of the newer tools available to use to reach your customers is social media. The different platforms to be active on are always changing, but one thing that is clear is that social media is one way to connect and broadcast out to prospects and customers.
Just like anything else in sales, there are clear things to do and not do when it comes to trying to be most effective at using social media. One thing to focus on is trying to connect with as many people as possible. From there, you can try to offer value with your posts and updates in place of promoting products and services.
Search Engine Optimization
Another tool to use to connect with customers, and maybe one of the most powerful, is search engine optimization. This is modifying and managing your website so that search engines send targeted traffic to you.
This is not an overnight thing to develop as it takes time to earn the trust and respect from search engines. The key to success in this area centers around publishing regular and valuable content on your website.
