Secrets to Successfully Marketing Your Answering Service
As the proud new owner of an answering service you have created a business plan and set up your workspace with the appropriate equipment. Your next task is to find customers for your service. Marketing your new business entails several things. It involves knowing who you want your customer base to be and knowing where they are likely to be found.
It also involves developing a way of "packaging" your business to make it attractive to others (simple things such as the name you choose for your business are an example of this type of marketing). Of course, the most well-known component of marketing is advertising. There are many ways to advertise your new business and you would be wise to use as many different ways as possible until you have an established customer base.
The first way is the time honored tradition of networking. While this requires a lot of effort and time at first, the bright side is that it is completely free. This is especially important if you are starting a small operation and/or if capital is limited. Networking, quite simply, involves talking to people you know and asking them to refer you to people they know who might be interested in your services. Word of mouth can be your best advertisement, so once you have a client or two, be sure to provide them with outstanding service so they will be sure to recommend you to their associates.
Another low-cost option is to place flyers at local businesses. Again, this depends on the size and scope of your business and the type of image you are trying to project. If you want to advertise that your answering service is the most cost efficient, a simple flyer printed from your own computer may work for you. If you want to cater to a more up-scale clientele, you may want to have them professionally printed.
Classified ads are another relatively inexpensive way to advertise your new answering service business. You will want to place your ads in the type of paper you believe your clients will be reading. You should make the ad stand out, adding things like a border or different colored text can be the difference in getting your ad noticed. You want to be straight and to the point with your wording, since you are paying by the word and also since most people are unwilling to spend too much time reading an ad, if you lose their attention you will not win their business.
Radio and television advertising is a very effective way to get your name out to a large number of people. If you are aiming to gain doctors as clients, you would want to advertise with a radio station that is likely to be played in doctor's offices and so on. Radio and television advertising can cost a bit more than a newspaper ad, but it has also been proven to be much more effective.
Radio and television stations also have different rates depending on how often and during what time slot your ad is run, so discuss your needs and budget with the station's sales rep and you should be able to come up with a solution that works for you. Direct mail is another option, but may not be as effective as other forms of advertising, because "junk" mail is often thrown out... unread.
There are many ways to market your new answering service business and this is just scratching the surface. Be creative and make this fun. You will attract more customers with a positive, happy attitude both in person and in your advertising than any other way.
