Loading ...I think many people are confused about what word-of-mouth marketing means.
If you are in professional services, you often hear the advice from veterans and experts that building relationships and getting referrals is the number one way you will build your practice.
This is true.
But I see many service providers and Virtual Assistants still missing the boat. Word-of-mouth doesn’t mean sitting on your butt waiting, hoping, for someone to recommend a client to you.
They don’t call it Referral Marketing and Relationship Marketing for no reason, “marketing” being the operative word.
You need to engage in activities and efforts to consciously and effectively develop referrals and build relationships.
That means first getting clear about who you are talking to (who you primarily serve in business, who your target markets are and who your ideal client is). Once you know that, you can then more easily search for the places they hang out both online and off–and get busy.
Join the business groups where they can be found. Research their professional associations; find out how you can get involved. Attend their networking and business events. Participate, actively, in their online forums and listservs. Write frequent articles for them. Go to their trade events.
This kind of marketing also means coming up with a systematic referral marketing strategy.
The point is that you have to DO something, consciously and consistently, so you become known to those who would hire you. When it comes down to it, it’s really about simply making friends with people.
But you can’t do that sitting on your behind, staring at the phone. Stop hiding out. Get off your duff, make some noise and take some action.
