Providing More Value To Your Clients
With increasing business costs, you should always be looking for ways to maximize revenue and find unique, cost-effective marketing solutions. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources to achieve the latter, while the former is a story for another time. In this article, we will present three ways to showcase your business and your talents.
Use Marathon’s Showroom As Your Own
Unless your last name is Gaines and you own silos filled with merchandise, you may not have the room to showcase all of the products that you use in your designs. Luckily for you, Marathon offers free reign to our showrooms. Working displays of drawers, hinges, pullouts, and decorative hardware provide your clients an opportunity to "try out" your suggestions. Therefore, you have a chance to showcase many of the great products available at no additional cost.
Use Social Media to Showcase Your Work
Instagram and Pinterest are a designer’s best friends. If you are not currently taking advantage of these free platforms, setting up an account takes only a few minutes. Additionally, an hour or so to figure out how they work is all it takes to really get started. The strategic use of hashtags and tagging within Instagram can get you exposure to your target audiences and cost you only a few minutes of your time. For a small fee you can extend the reach of your campaign tenfold. While this part isn’t technically free, getting the same sort of targeted advertising would cost thousands of dollars and much more of your precious time through traditional methods.
Free resources on how to use these tools to their full potential litter the two largest search engines in the world - Google and YouTube. They provide hundreds of hours worth of video and written material. Marathon’s marketing team would also be more than happy to answer any questions or point you in the right direction to maximize your social media strategy. Embracing these opportunities has never been easier or more essential to the future of your business.
Court Clients At Trade Shows and Use The Event as Your Own Showcase
There are costs associated with trade shows from admission to buying and dressing a booth space. However, if you are savvy, costs can be cut drastically. Take advantage of everything that is available at a show by merely attending and courting your clients. This approach can produce better results than buying a booth yourself by giving you the freedom to wander.
Start by inviting current and potential clients to the show. You can cover their admission or ask your suppliers if they have a free admission code for you to share. Scout the show beforehand to make notes and have a few ideas for each client handy. There is often an opportunity for industry professionals to walk the show in advance of being open to the public. Book specific time to walk the show with each client that you have invited. And don't forget to leave a comfortable window of time in between for answering questions or a post-walk consultation. Rinse and repeat for each client that you have booked.
This hands-on approach provides a personal touch that most attendees will not experience. It will also focus your client’s attention on what you want to show and can avoid overwhelming them with too much information or often confusing and sometimes redundant sales pitches.
Spending the time and utilizing all available resources can have an extremely positive effect on your success. If you are not sure how to make these things happen, feel free to reach out to Marathon Hardware’s marketing team, or simply Google what you are looking for. The answer to your question is available; all you need to do is ask.
