Although David has been a graphic designer for a decade, he’s
only been a business owner for a little over a year. He was
becoming increasingly discouraged with his clientele. “I'm the
only person in the business, and even though I’ve been in
business for a whole year, I’m still having to spend a lot of
time marketing to get new clients. And the ones I do get usually
only have one small project for me for the entire year. To top
it off, I don't even get to do the kind of work I really enjoy.
They all just want the basic logo, business card, letterhead
job. I really want to work on full-scale marketing campaigns
where I’m designing print ads, direct mailers & media kits. How
do I get more of the right clients?”
As you are discovering, David, building a stable of long-term
clients with needs that match your interests can be a
time-consuming and ongoing effort, but it's worth it in the long
run. It's up to you to build a company that attracts clients
with higher-end needs. You can't blame the small businesses for
whom you are likely working for having a small budget and basic
needs. As a sole proprietor, you can certainly understand
working on a restricted budget.
So the first thing you need to do is to focus on how you want to
position your company in the marketplace. What types of work do
you want to do for clients? Do you want to avoid business card
layout all together or will you do it if it's for a client who
does or will have larger needs in the future? Do you want to
develop a niche in which you specialize in doing full-scale
marketing campaigns within a specific industry, such as
restaurants or high-tech companies? You get the idea - begin by
determining what type of work you want. The world of graphic
design is big and broad, so it's your job to narrow your focus
which will make your company more attractive to potential
clients in that field because you spend more time working on
projects similar to theirs as compared to a jack-of-all-trades
graphic designer.
Next, you need to make sure that everything you use to present
your company to the marketplace reflects your new positioning.
This may mean revising the content of your web site and
brochures and re-wording the tagline on your business card. If
you don't already have a tag line that you splatter on all of
your collateral materials, create one. This is a terrific
positioning tool. And, as a graphic designer, you know that you
can impact the image someone gets of your company through the
design of your company's materials. Do you want to present your
company as high-tech, friendly and affordable, or hip and
cutting edge? Create a consistent image across the board on
everything a prospect would see when encountering your business.
If you want to do full-scale marketing campaigns, start with
your own. Enlist the help of a designer friend or marketing
friend if you tend to have trouble applying your designer
brilliance to your own company as many of us do.
Once you know how you want to position your company in the
marketplace and you have updated all of your materials, the only
thing left to do is present yourself to the people who want what
you have to sell. This may be a very different group of people
than the ones you've spent the last year with. Many of us cut
our marketing teeth at the local chamber of commerce, but they
can be full of small, one-person businesses that may not have
the need for the services you want to provide.
The best thing to do is to identify what types of companies are
going to be attracted to what you are providing. Are they of a
certain size, a certain geographic location, a certain industry?
Once you've identified the parameters, it's time to determine
how you are going to reach them. What associations do they
belong to? Can you write articles for that association's
newsletter? What networking groups do they attend? Can you join?
Do they usually find their vendors from advertisements,
referrals, or direct mail? Who else already provides services to
them that could potentially provide you an opening into the
companies in exchange for a finder's fee or reciprocity (these
are called Centers of Influence)? Develop contacts with
marketing companies who could potentially bring you in as a
subcontractor for their clients' marketing campaigns. Although,
they will generally take a cut or mark up your services,
perhaps, you'd enjoy focusing on building these relationships so
in the future you could focus just on the graphic design aspect
of your business, not the client-building part.
This may seem like you are starting from ground zero as you pull
away from those groups that you've been networking with during
the past year and begin again as a new member in new groups, but
soon you will be reaping the rewards of a thriving business
working with people you like and doing what you want to do. What
could be better?
Once you've established yourself in these new communities, you
can't continue to spend half of your week trolling for new
clients or you'll cap your income in relatively short order.
Your next line of attack should be meeting some Centers of
Influence. Read more about how to do this at:
http://www.askthebizcoach.com/ezines/061802gettingclients.htm
Download a free copy of *50 Ways to Win New Clients* at:
http://www.askthebizcoach.com/freebies.htm
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