Author: Kirsty France

I have a confession to make.  This is going to be one of those blog posts where I dispense brilliant advice that I haven’t taken myself.

Getting testimonials from happy clients is absolutely essential if you want to grow your business.  Yet I don’t have any on my website or anywhere on social media.  Why?  Well, read on and you’ll discover where my strategy failed.

Why do I need testimonials?

We all know how important marketing is.  If you don’t do it, your customers won’t find you.  OK, networking will help, but it’ll only take you so far.  People like to look at your website and check you out on social media to see what you’re about.

That’s where testimonials come in.  People can read my blog to see if they like my writing style or whether my values resonate with theirs.  But it doesn’t tell you anything about the experience of working with me.

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What does your brand mean to you?  Is it a lovely logo that you put everywhere that you can think of?  Do you have a range of gorgeous visuals that make your website, social media and all your other communications instantly recognisable?  If that’s as far as it goes, you’re missing out.

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Have you ever been called on to explain why you do what you do for a living?  This happened to me at a networking lunch recently.  We always do a thirty second introduction, but this time the organiser asked us to go a bit further.  As I stood up I described my former life as a solicitor and why I’d chucked it all in to become a freelance writer.

Another lady told us she was an accountant and she’d always wanted to be one, it was really boring.  Then our speaker, a fantastic life coach called Sandra Pollock, began her talk.  She turned to this lady and told her that she should never, ever say that her job is boring.

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Forgive me if this turns into a rant, but I can’t keep quiet any longer.  I love Facebook.  Yes, it has its irritations, particularly since some of my friends have some very strange ideas about how to cure cancer.  Generally though, it’s a great way to keep in touch.

Then there are the Facebook groups.  Like most businesses, I have a Facebook page (and if you don’t already follow me, here’s the link).  However, most of my online support, along with a lot of business, comes from the groups.  It’s basically online networking.  You benefit from other people’s expertise and get yourself known by sharing your own. That’s the idea, anyway.

Unfortunately, sometimes it all goes horribly wrong.  Brace yourself for a few pet hates…

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How is your inbox looking?  Do you open your email each day knowing that everything you receive is going to be useful, entertaining and a joy to read?  No, me neither. Still, there’s a reason I don’t unsubscribe from all of them.  There are plenty of retailers out there that I buy from now and again.  They’re useful information sources for birthday or Christmas presents.  I stay on their list because it’s useful to know when they’ve got a sale on.

If you send email marketing out to your customers, you may well fall into that category.  As long as your customers are happy, it’s all fine.  However, break the rules and you could find yourself on the end of more than an angry phone call.

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If you have a shop with physical premises, a great window display is a no-brainer.  How else are you going to convince people to come inside?  Of course, what your shop front needs depends on the customers you want to attract.  The display outside a seaside bucket and spade shop will be very different from that of a high end boutique.

When you have an online business, it’s easy to forget that the same rules apply.  Your online presence, particularly your website, is a virtual shopfront and should be treated accordingly.

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Are you annoying your customers without meaning to?  Could you be bringing in more business if your marketing talked to your audience in the right way?

Bridging the gap between you and your audience can be harder than you think.  There are so many potential pitfalls if you misjudge your customers.  The main problem is that you’re an expert.  You know your business and your subject inside and out but your customers might not.  You run the risk of alienating them by blinding them with science.  Conversely, you could also end up patronising them by assuming they know less than they do.

It’s a balancing act.  So how do you get it right?

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When you first start a business, you probably just hope that someone will buy from you.  That’s particularly true when you’re a sole trader working for yourself for the first time.

However, trying to market to everyone is a recipe for disaster.  There’s nothing wrong with taking whatever work comes your way in the early days when you just need to make some money.  But you’ll be doing yourself a massive disservice if you don’t get more targeted in your marketing.

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At the risk of repeating myself ad nauseum, I decided to make spring resolutions this year instead of inflicting further misery at New Year.   In case you’re wondering what on earth I’m talking about, you can catch up with the rest of this series of blogs here, here and here.
My business goal is the most challenging because it doesn’t rest solely in my hands.  I can talk to as many prospective new clients as I want but they need to decide that they want to work with me.  When you’re hiring a writer it’s certainly true that your personalities need to be a good fit.  I haven’t worked for anyone I’ve actively disliked but there have been occasions where I’m working for someone against my better judgment.  The words start to feel forced and that’s never a good thing.

I’m aiming to sign up five new retainer clients by the end of the year.  The best thing I can do to achieve that is to focus my marketing in the right places.

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If you’ve been following this blog series so far (and if you haven’t you can catch up here and here) you’ll know that I’ve made two spring resolutions this year.  New Year’s resolutions are so 2016.  During the course of my life I’ve made dozens of different resolutions.  Some have succeeded and some haven’t.  I’ve realised that there are two main differences between the two.  Firstly, how much I wanted to achieve the goal or not and secondly, what steps I took to track my progress.

Choosing the right goal

I was 23 when I went to university.  When I left school I had an offer of a place but it was my second choice and I didn’t know what I’d get out of it besides a mountain of debt.  Of course, a mountain of debt then is a molehill now, but that’s another debate.  I spent a few years doing various courses and a few secretarial and admin jobs whilst I worked out what to do next.  When I finally went to university I’d escaped from a job I hated.  I was motivated to study and find a proper career path.  By the end of my first year I’d had a fantastic time and put on a massive amount of weight.  I wanted to feel healthy again so I did something about it.  Getting into the right frame of mind just felt easy.

Choosing a 10k run as a health goal took a while.  I can’t set goals based on what other people think of me.  It has to be about my own opinion of myself.  I know that probably makes me deeply narcissistic but it’s true.  I’m the only person who can put one foot in front of the other first thing in the morning or keep my hand out of the biscuit tin.

Why do I need to track my data?

When you first set a goal that you’re really excited about, you just launch yourself into it.  You’ve made the plan and you’re fired up to execute it.  Then, a few weeks in, your motivation can start to slip.  The changes you made take you out of your comfort zone and it starts to feel like more of an effort.  That’s where tracking comes in.

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