Almost ten days ago, I was attending one of the email marketing seminars in the area. It was hosted by one of the industry leaders in this field. The presenter did the normal blabbing on how to use their system, how their system is one of the best out there and how the system will help you look professional ….etc. Do not get me wrong, the seminar was very educational and non-the-less a great opportunity to network with other people. Especially when you take into consideration the 200+ people that attended this seminar.
I really enjoy attending such seminars. It not only keeps me updated on the latest technology available, but it is also a good opportunity to share some of the ideas to further increase traffic towards my corporate website and further expose our products and/or services that we offer. Hence, I want to share this piece of information with you.
I met this lovely lady that I know from another business network and her friend. I know that she works in the limo rental industry. I discovered that her friend also works in the same field. She has just met with a new potential customer that owns a CPA office in the area.
His office works with both local and out-of-state customers as well. She was sharing with me how she was struggling to relate her line of work with his. She knows that her services could be of great use to almost any type of industry out there, but she felt she could not convince this prospective client of how her line of work would be of value to his.
I suggested that, whenever she goes back to her office, start a brain storming process of all types of industry out there and how your business is related to each of them. It would be even more effective if you included all workers in the process. Once you produce this list, give all your workers a copy from it as well.
Once you receive their feedback (and yours), filter as you see fit and print it out and distribute it to everyone there. After this step, it is totally up to you. If you want keep it in your wallet or memorize it.
This will make everyone up to date and also bring more value to each individual job. This could not only be one of your most effective ways to market your product/service, but also increase the value of each job to its individual holder.
How can you do this? Take any phone book; start with the first few pages that include all the services that are listed in the phonebook. Photo copy it. Write beside each industry how your product/service that you offer and how it is related to this industry.
When you finish, filter your work and summarize it in blank document on your computer (or on a piece of paper). It is really helpful to include all your co-workers (even friends and family, if applicable) in the process so as to get the most of this list. You can either do it in a meeting like process, or as a task with a deadline for everyone to submit their thoughts. Nevertheless, you should not expect that you will be able to relate to every industry out there.
Why should anyone do this? The best way for me to remember you is to establish an immediate relation with both our industries. This way I will never forget you whenever the need for your product/service comes up.