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Organic Marketing

Organic Marketing: How to Utilize Your Previous Happy Customers to Grow Your Business

One of the toughest parts of growing a painting company is wearing multiple hats at the same time. It’s easy for one thing to consume your time and energy and put the other 6 or 7 on the backburner until it’s too late. Imagine if you could have a steady pipeline of referrals from your already satisfied customers to help support your growing business! This allows you to focus your time and energy on the growth and systems in your business and not on generating leads. The concept of Organic/Relationship Marketing is one we coach our clients through to help them work smarter, not harder.

Leads that come in through the organic channel have a much higher closing rate, profit margin, and are typically easier clients to work with during the production process as there is a level of trust and credibility already established. The goal of any organic marketing method is to keep you and your business top of mind with your previous customers. A semi-consistent reminder of your brand is a refresh of the great experience they had with your company and the desire to advocate on your behalf to their network! Here are 3 ways to keep your business top of mind with your previous clients that are easy to implement:

  1. Value Add Campaigns: Do these every 4 to 6 weeks to your entire database that you want to stay in touch with. These campaigns can be done either through physical mail or email. Although email may be easier and cost effective, the impact of physical mail could be greater since it shows more time and thoughtfulness. Physical Mail could also stand out more since most of your customer’s communication is probably done via email. The goal of the campaign is to have something to add value to their lives and not be solely focused on your business. Whether it’s sending out a list of the “Top 10 Summer Family Vacation Spots in the US” in February, or “7 Homeowner Tips to Get Your Home Ready For Spring and Summer” in March, the goal is to stay consistent and add value for your clients so that they will open your communications and read them . Your logo/brand being tied to it is all they need to remember you.
  2. Social Media: Connecting with your top clients on social media and having homeowners follow your business page can be a way to stay in front of your clients. Your personal Facebook account and connection can be the golden ticket here, adding authenticity and humanizing your brand . This personal connection strategy may only be for the top 10-15% of your clients, but it could pay the most dividends if the relationship is strong enough! Either way you stay engaged with previous clients on social media, make it fun and entertaining and you will be more memorable and referable!
  3. Connection Cards: One concept that Rachel Grimm, Marketing Advisor at Elite Business Advising, loves to help clients implement are monthly/quarterly “Connection Cards”. This is a simple handwritten card that plays off a particular time of year that you send to some or all of your top 50-200 clients/referral partners (depending on your business size). For example: in March you might send out a card that says We’re So Lucky to Have You as a Client (or referral partner) with a $1 scratch off inside of it. Something fun and also a way of showing gratitude to reinforce the relationship.

Building relationships with referral partners in the right industries can also be one of the best tools to add to your pipeline of leads. Utilize the 3 methods mentioned above to continue building a relationship on top of spending time with potential referral partners one-on-one or at events. Some of the best entities for Painting Contractors to connect with are: Real Estate Agents, Interior Designers, Other Contractors, Property Managers/Investors, Restoration Companies, etc. The goal here is to find like-minded people in these industries who have your best interest in mind and work toward a mutually beneficial relationship.

Like everything in business, what you put into these organic marketing channels is exactly what you will get out of them! The more resources you can pour in, the larger lead pipeline you will have as your business scales.

Enjoy the Journey!Elite Business Logo