Relationship marketing is not necessarily easy.  There is quite a lot of behind the scenes work which must be done by an organisation to effortlessly create contacts via a ripple effect.  Struggling to get it done however is optional.

With the Summer upon us, there may be space in your diary to take the opportunity to review your relationship marketing plans.  And a plan you will need in order to truly utilise all the methods available.  Trying to do your marketing by a piece meal approach will not enable you to effectively forge ahead encapsulating all the methods and approaches available.  Without the aforementioned plan you will be purely treading water rather than moving forward in a positive manner.

If you are new to business you are essentially working with a clean slate.  If you have been operational for a while, then it is important to analyse what you’ve done over the past 12 months in terms of your marketing approach.  What worked?  What didn’t?  Was there something that you attempted that could be improved upon?  Ignoring your prior efforts is wasted information that you could be using to your own advantage.

It is always important to look at the contacts you have at your fingertips and try to use those to the best of your ability before you move forward to seek out new methods.  This is both a time saving and money saving approach.  Take time to reach out to your current clients and colleagues, work on the relationships and nurture them to your advantage.  Building upon your current relationships will be more beneficial to your business in the long term as it means repeat business and positive word of mouth about your products or your services.

Once this is achieved you can then look to target new contacts with a focussed marketing plan while at the same time avoiding blanketing non-interested parties with information about your business.

Here are a couple of quick pointers to remember to help you along the way:

• Make sure you know exactly what your client requires
• Keep in touch with both past clients and prospective clients
• Maintain your professionalism at all times
• Be adaptable in order to best assist the needs of your clients

Here’s to a great Summer with an abundance of opportunities and the flexibility and means to grow your business.

If you’re overwhelmed, struggling to get things done, or recognise you need some assistance, organise a call with me to discuss your business support needs.