It is natural to think that raising the profile of your e-commerce business is all about using search engine optimisation, PPC, social media and social bookmarking sites, blogging and going on forums to drive potential customers to your website. What many of us seem to forget is "How did we advertise and get business before any of this came along." the answer of course is that we did many things, but many of those methods are still just as effective today as they were then. It is just that "modern" business finding methods have taken all the limelight.
Consider to begin with advertising in whatever form be it in business directories or a newspaper or periodical. The state of the newspaper industry in terms of lost readers is well known, but ought this not to be an opportunity for the astute marketer. Advertising rates can be negotiated easily at present because of the aforementioned move online. At the end of the day, people still read newspapers, particularly local ones and a good idea is to take a small advertisement to begin with. If the advert contains a link to a blog or website where they can obtain a free e-book in exchange for leaving their name and email address This is a great way to generate leads for the business. If it works well, it can be scaled up very quickly. The important thing here is that you can measure the ROI very quickly.
Another very good way of raising the profile of your business, is to have some unusual business cards printed. One of the best we have seen was a pretend wallet, which was extremely realistic and contained the business owner's card and importantly a sales message on a piece of neatly folded A4. Although this was more expensive than usual the business owner was working on the premise that people don't throw wallets away!
Networking is always a good way to find potential customers. It is extremely effective as it has the advantage of a face to face meeting, often in a social rather than business context. If you are active in this area, join as many groups as possible and rather than offer the standard business card or brochure, have a briefcase of A4 sales pages in your briefcase. The sales message does not have to be overt, just a good description of you, your business and its uniqueness and benefits. If you write in something like 10% introductory discount when you hand it to your new network acquaintance it will have that personal touch and it is also highly unlikely that it will be thrown away.
These are just a few ways in which you can use oft neglected but proven advertising methods to find new customers. And remember it is not the initial sale that is important, it's the long term value of that customer to your business.
Peter Robson is an accountant with over 30 years experience in the small company sector. With his business partner, Debbie Crossley he runs a company helping people set up and run e-commerce businesses. For more information go to http://www.yournichebusiness.co.uk/
