Gaining Advantage Over Your Competition

Generating leads is key to business success at any level. We need leads to sell more yogurt, add more clients to our firm, etc. And the competition is thick in letters nine feet wide. There are three key areas that elevate successful companies:

1. Advertising requires a usually high upfront investment and typically offers lower credibility when compared to public relations; however, you also gain a high level of control in your message. Because of the large investment required for a strong advertising campaign, it’s important to find a seasoned advertising partner that can help guide you in the most efficient and effective directions.

2. Public Relations (PR) requires a much smaller monetary investment when compared to advertising and, many times, produces high credibility. The downside of public relations is that you don’t have control of your messages – often, the control is with the reporter writing the story. Again, finding a seasoned partner is key here, too. It’s important to work with a PR firm that reports back to you. We run into many clients who share horror stories of paying retainers for months on end, never seeing results of any type.

3. Referrals or word-of-mouth marketing sometimes net the highest results. To date, each one of our clients have come to us through referrals. The key here is to encourage friends, family and business associates to pass those referrals through. Teach them how to talk about your business and talk through the types of leads you’re looking to obtain. Many times, your best friend’s aunt’s boss could be the perfect lead to catapult your business to the next level.