How-To Earn Your First Few Clients

When I quit my office job to start Get Global Marketing, I thought it would be easy.

After all, I know my job skills well. All I need to do is get clients. But that’s the easy part, right?

Wrong!

Surprisingly, my phone was not ringing daily with pleas for my amazing online marketing skills. I quickly realized the reality between getting clients and earning clients. So what did I do?

I freaked out.

Yes, I did. I have read many blogs about successful business owners that always keep calm. I am here to say that it is okay to freak out occasionally as long as there are no sharp objects or children in the area. It might actually feel kind of good.

After my freak out session, I sat on my carpet and remember thinking “now what?”

The first step was to identify my clients:

  • What is your demographic?
  • What are your customer’s hobbies?
  • What are your customer’s professions?
  • Where do your customers hang out?

After identifying my clients, I created an action plan. The following steps are what worked for me to get my first few clients. Before you freak out, I recommend trying a few of these items also. If a freak out is inevitable then please stay at least 250 feet clear of sharp objects and children.

Email Newsletter

An email newsletter is an instant method to reaching hundreds of business professionals. To introduce Get Global Marketing to the community, I created an email newsletter to all of the lawyers, realtors, business owners, and other professionals that I could.

What to Include in Your Newsletter

  • Summary of Business
  • List of Services
  • Attractive Visuals
  • Catchy Subject Line

A newsletter can be very valuable for launching a hospitality company. For example, if you own a new tourism company, you could include a new client special or BOGO discount. This is a creative method to get customers fast while learning how you can improve your tours.

Mail Chimp Mail Chimp is my preferred online newsletter platform.

Keep Your Social Media Updated

If you are anything like me, then you check your Facebook on your smartphone throughout the day. Our connection with social media can work great for businesses. Your updates social media account can provide you with FREE marketing to thousands of your clientele database.

Your hospitality business can share the latest events, news, and packages. You can also include miscellaneous tips that are relevant to your customers. If there is a holiday coming up then give a brief overview of how it is celebrated in your town. Provide information on festivals. The more you are an expert of your field, the more people are likely to visit you.

Social Media Ideas

  • Exciting Events
  • Discounts and Packages
  • Community News
  • Tips and Tricks Related to Customers’ Needs

Top Social Media Platforms

Get Involved with the Community

My first customers were people that I knew.

Why?

They knew me. They trusted me. We want to work with companies that we trust. As I gained exposure and a better reputation, I earned clients from my listings and advertisements. Nevertheless, the majority of my customers are from word of mouth.

In my experience, getting involved with the community can be the best marketing for your business. I get involved with the community through volunteer work, Meet Up groups, and my yoga classes. I have met many people while rolling up my mat in a hot, sweaty yoga studio.

Remember to always carry your business cards with you! You never know if the random person sitting at a coffee shop is looking for a new breakfast restaurant, just like the one that you might have recently opened.

Meet Up Can Introduce You to Other Business Professionals

Offer an Introductory Package

When your business is new, you will probably have to offer incentive to gain new customers. An introductory package can earn you clients to get valuable online reviews. There are many beneficial introductory packages.

Types of Introductory Packages

  • BOGO Deals
  • Family Discounts
  • Recommendation Cash Earnings
  • Free Services for Money You Spend

If you are a restaurant, then you could advertise a “Date Night Special”. The special could include two free drinks with the purchase of two appetizers or desserts, and two main courses. Include the special in your newsletter for best results.

BOGO BOGO – Buy One Get One

In terms of business, the quote that I live by is “you get in what you put out.” If you want more clients then put out more effort. The tactics that I listed increased my clientele. I recommend choosing at least two of the tactics if you are digging for new customers. You might be surprised by the immediate results your efforts bring.

Google Evens the Playing Field with the Elimination of Sidebar Ads

I am sure that you have heard it before – Big budgets can create big results!

That just doesn’t seem fair right?

Well, Google is evening out the competition by eliminating sidebar ads. For years, Google has provided us with pay-per-click (PPC) to increase our rankings with advertisements. The PPC listings have been labeled as “ads” on the right sidebar and above the organic listing. Now, there will only be the top four ads on the search engine result pages (SERPs).

How Does PPC Work?

You choose your keywords and demographics. Whenever your demographic searches for your paid keyword than your advertisement will be exposed on the paid ad sidebar or headline. PPC can be very valuable for increasing your rankings fast.

Many companies rely on PPC for online advertising. Some of those companies have crappy websites that lack valuable content. Nevertheless, those websites can be ranked highest on SERPs.

As a website developer and marketer, I value quality over quantity. A quality product will keep your business alive.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not against PPC! Ads are a great way of increasing your rankings quickly. In the end, you need a high quality website, SEO, and social media to maintain conversions.

Search Engine Man

Mr. Search Engine Man

What Does this Mean for Hospitality Companies?

If you own a hospitality business, than you probably have fierce competition. In typical tourism towns, there can be dozens of restaurants that want your exact clientele. You now have opportunity for more direct traffic and bookings through your website.

Benefits of Removing PPC Ads for Hospitality Companies
  • Bookings through website which eliminates a commission
  • Allows a better user experience with more relevant content
  • Increases the quality of websites
  • 4 ad spaces which is giving us the opportunity to rename search

As you can see in the following photo, there is no right sidebar anymore:

Desktop Search Engine Result Page

Desktop SERP

What Does this Mean for Organic Search?

Your SEO has become more important than ever! We predict that you will see more hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality companies investing in higher quality websites and content. I you haven’t invested in PPC then you could see your conversions increase as you now have a better opportunity to be noticed.

The removal of sidebar PPC ads is currently only relevant on desktops and tablets. Our mobile devices have limited space which allows ads strictly above the organic search results. To make up for removing the sidebar, Google is adding four ad spaces above organic search. Nevertheless, there are fewer paid ads which can improve the likelihood that your organic listing will be visible on search pages. In the end, quality rules quantity!