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Demand Generation is the marketing term which simply means getting people to want what you have to offer. The art of creating a demand for your services begins with having a service that will benefit your market. There is no doubt that small to medium sized businesses will benefit from EZ-NetTools™ coupled with the services you offer to help them get online.
Word of mouth advertising is a very powerful form of advertising. When you service your customers well, they will tell a few friends. Conversely, word of mouth can be detrimental to your efforts if you don't provide a good service. Provide poor service and they will tell 10 people how poorly you did. This is why we endorse the Raving Fans audio book coauthored by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles.
The problem when one gets started is inexperience and lack of confidence. That is why I suggest you begin with your "warm market."
Start with your Warm Market
My definition of a warm market is family, friends, and acquaintances. These are the people who know you personally and would be willing to be a guinea pig as you work on your first web sites. They will be patient and will hopefully give you candid feedback on your work. This is a great way to get started and I would definitely give them a price break since it takes a couple of sales to work through the kinks in your process.
Once you have done a good job for them, ask for a few referrals to get the "word of mouth" advertising started. Think of everyone you can and truly exhaust this market. Many of these people are uncertain who to go with, and just knowing you personally can help them decide to get started with their web site. Now of course, you must pick up the phone and call or go meet with them. You must take the initiative.
Continue with the Cold Market
After you have exhausted your warm market, it is time to move onto the "cold market." A cold market consists of people that you don't know, and many people dread to wander into this territory. However, it is essential to dilligently work this market to succeed in business. There are two basic ways to approach the "cold market."
First, there is the cold call. This can be either a phone call or a personal visit. You can warm up this "cold" market very effectively by offering them something for free and providing them with some sort of information that you can follow-up on. This is where brochures, promotional tapes, Pass-Along cards or an e-mail linked to one of our model sites come into play.
An enthusiastic, nonthreatening introduction followed up by a phone call is a great way to move your business to the next level. Especially if you don't have a huge budget for advertising or if you are starting part time from home. Once you get a few of these accounts sold, you can ask them for referrals. If you provide a positive experience, they will tell a few people about you and start the sales process for you.Again, you must pick up the phone and call or go meet with them. You must take the initiative!
The second way to approach the cold market is with an advertisement. Advertising simply speeds up the process to good "word of mouth" advertising. A well written, appropriately placed advertisement will appeal to people looking for your services. There are volumes of books that can help you learn what a good ad is. If you plan to advertise, I suggest that you start with small ads testing the words used. Test the ads until they pay themselves off. Then, make them bigger or branch out to different media. This approach will cost money and can waste a lot of money if not done effectively. It also takes effort to produce the advertisement itself. However, when done appropriately, it can be a short cut to the all effective "word of mouth" advertisement.
Creating demand for your services will require considerable time, effort, and money. Starting with your "warm market" is less threatening and gives you a chance to work through a few jobs. As you approach the "cold market" it is important to keep trying. Realize that a lot of the people you talk to will not be interested.You can't afford to give up or get discouraged.
Conclusion
It has been said that nothing worthwhile was ever easy and nothing ever obtained meant more to a person than that which was diligently worked for. No matter which way you choose to create demand for your services, you must move beyond the debilitating obstacles that keep you from your dreams. You must decide on your approach. You must make a list of your prospects and then immediately pick up the phone or go out to meet them. You must get jazzed about selling your services to realize your dreams for your business.
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