By Mark Macias
What is your business development strategy? Whether we like it or not, every business has to find a way to get our brand in front of customers. I always tell potential clients there are roughly three ways to get your name in front of clients.
- You advertise.
- You network and try to sell your services in person.
- You leverage the media.
Advertise for New Business
Advertising is a great way to get your brand in front of the masses – IF – you have a big advertising budget. A small budget won’t bring your brand the consistent exposure it needs. And if you’re trying to reach a coveted demo, forget about it. You will pay a premium. Equally important, when your advertising budget ends, so does your exposure. In my view, advertising is a myopic approach unless it’s strategic and targeting your clients directly.
Network for New Business
I will never dismiss the power of meeting new business acquaintances in person. However, if you go to a conference and exchange business cards over the course of three days, who do you actually remember? Yes, some people will make an impression, but it’s very difficult to scale your exposure via individuals. Also, it’s very time consuming to network and it can be expensive if conferences are in other cities.
Leverage the Media for New Business
I’m partial with the influence of PR because I grew up in the media. As an Executive Producer with NBC, I saw the influence our news coverage had on local and national audiences. As the owner of this PR firm, you can argue that I’m biased with my own self-interest. Perhaps, but even if I didn’t own a PR firm, I would still leverage the media to introduce my brand to customers.
The media is the most influential, cost-effective approach for scaling any message. Plus, your branding doesn’t go away when your campaign is over. In other words, it’s a diminishing cost over time.
Want to see more? Check out the above photo that provides more research on what your clients are thinking, but likely not saying when it comes to PR and marketing.
Macias PR was named the 2015 and 2016 top PR Firm of the Year – USA by Finance Monthly. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. He is also a PR contributor with CNBC, providing media analysis, insight and crisis advice on timely business topics.