With so much attention to marketing new products, entrepreneurs building service businesses may feel overlooked.
The truth is that marketing services can be tricky. For some companies, success depends on creating a bundled offering that includes the features customers or clients want most.
For others, it's all about differentiating based on customer satisfaction, with a heavy emphasis on testimonials and ongoing customer input.
The way Hubspot cracked the online service mantra, it scaled from 0 to 121 Locations in just 18 months and has offered a learning curve to other service providers.
Hubspot has created a path for all online service providers to follow.
Today, we’re excited to share some practical methods for marketing a service business.
This is because we’ve seen firsthand how powerful a strategy can be for service businesses…
…but also because it can be challenging if you’re unsure what to do.
How to market your service-based product? If this question bothers you too, then focus on these five tips for bringing in new customers.
5 Tips for Marketing Your Service-Based Product
Find a way to differentiate.
If you were to take an analytical look at your competitors' ads and brochures, you'd find one glaringly obvious similarity--most are satisfied with "me too'' marketing themes. Consequently, few ever stand out from the pack.
Careful differentiation is essential to growing a service business successfully. What sets your company apart from all the rest?
Perhaps it's the group of services you offer or the way you excel at customer satisfaction.
For best results, identify the unique benefits you provide and make them the central focus of your marketing message.
Add value by bundling services.
68% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for products and services from a brand that offers good customer service experiences.
While product marketers often compete solely based on price, price is a sign of quality for many service businesses. So if you price your service below your competitors' services, you may tell customers that it's of lesser worth.
Instead of lowering your price, why not add value? Focus on what your customers want most, and find a way to bundle those features (or even some select products) into your mix.
This will increase the perceived value of what you offer and give your company a leg up. You may even be able to raise your prices on higher-value offerings.
Market to existing customers.
For service marketers, the sale doesn't end with purchase: It's the beginning of a relationship that continues with delivery and support. As a result, satisfied customers or clients have the potential to become repeat buyers.
Do you have a program in place to market to your customer base? The good news is that upselling current customers cost less and yields significantly higher revenue than marketing to new prospects.
93% of customers will likely make repeat purchases with excellent customer service companies.
To build sales, use direct marketing, including email and direct mail, to offer special promotions to your customer base throughout the year.
Win more referrals.
Do you rely on referral audiences to send business your way? It's not enough to simply call on your referral prospects. You must also create a group of marketing tools for your referral sources to use with prospective clients.
Suppose you owned a home healthcare company. By supplying brochures and other materials to hospital workers to give to patients requiring at-home care following a hospital stay, you'd ensure that your complete information got through to your most qualified prospects.
Raise your visibility.
To reach potential customers across multiple channels, consider expanding your advertising in search-corridor media--where customers turn first when they're ready to buy.
Yellow Pages advertisers, for example, may benefit from expanding into online paid search, emphasising local search through engines such as Google and Overture.
Link your ads to a terrific website, complete the information about your company and its services, and you'll give customers confidence in your ability to meet their needs.
And don't overlook PR to increase your reputation in the community.
You can sponsor events, write articles for publication, offer yourself as a speaker and participate in a range of networking opportunities that allow you to build positive word-of-mouth.
Suppose you own a service business and have been struggling to market it! We hope this list of methods for marketing a service business helped you develop some ideas and understand the fundamentals.
It can be challenging, but it’s possible to have great marketing and get new clients even if you don’t sell a physical product.
The main focus is how your service fills your client's needs. Focus on how it will make their lives different – better.