10 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
10 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

What's the best way to get offline business owners to my website?

by mobileloyal
8 replies
I own a Mobile Loyalty Business that offers what I believe to be an affordable and effective marketing option for small businesses. The problem is that I've been to get restaurant/coffee shop owners to the site but it seems to be very slow going. I'm using Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail marketing. I'm considering mailing out postcards/flyers but I'm just concerned with laying out a lot of money & not seeing many results.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

Roddy Oaks
#business #offline #owners #website
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    Cold calling or going in and talking with them face to face... going door to door, maybe.
    Signature

    New Book! Radical Life Extension. Help me to hasten the defeat of aging.
    Michael Ten . Do Nothing Does . All Books by Michael Ten

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7054318].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JoeyXoto
      Originally Posted by Michael55555 View Post

      Cold calling or going in and talking with them face to face... going door to door, maybe.
      This is also an option; but before doing this I would suggest making sure your market research is tight and you know that this is a need that needs filling. Or you could waste a lot of money & time.

      Joey
      Signature
      Are You A Struggling Newbie Trying To Make Money Online? If You're Not...
      > DON'T CLICK THIS LINK <
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7054347].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JoeyXoto
    Originally Posted by mobileloyal View Post

    I own a Mobile Loyalty Business that offers what I believe to be an affordable and effective marketing option for small businesses. The problem is that I've been to get restaurant/coffee shop owners to the site but it seems to be very slow going. I'm using Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail marketing. I'm considering mailing out postcards/flyers but I'm just concerned with laying out a lot of money & not seeing many results.

    Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

    Roddy Oaks
    If the business is offline, you can still use online marketing techniques to attract them; just try to understand where those businesses browse on the net, and market there.

    E.g. A fisherman may not have a website about his fishing habits; that doesn't mean he won't use the net to find information or buy products.

    I can understand it's risky laying down money to see no return; but business always has an element of risk. If you want to test the waters with sending out flyers etc, find somewhere that does cheap flyers, and design something compelling and attractive. Test it with 3-500 flyers, and see what kind of response you get; analyse it!

    If it's good, then you're on to a winner.

    Have you done the initial research to make sure it's a hungry market that is buying?

    Cheers

    Joey
    Signature
    Are You A Struggling Newbie Trying To Make Money Online? If You're Not...
    > DON'T CLICK THIS LINK <
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7054322].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author wlasikiewicz
    I would say cold calling also, you need to sell your service on a face to face basis.
    Signature
    Build a Profitable & Professional email list.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7054338].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author helisell
    Just go and ask them.

    What I mean is...visit a typical client of the type you'd like to attract.

    Tell them what you do and then ask if you can pick their brain for 10 minutes.

    Ask them a few questions like...."You're a busy business owner, now that you know what I do, what would you say was the best way for me to contact business owners like you to explain my service to them"

    You'll get a lot more sense out of them than you'll get on here because most of us are 'online business owners' so what do we know about the best way to contact 'offline business owners'

    Tip: When you very first approach them say "I run a different business to yours......would you let me pick your brain for 5 minutes" they ALWAYS say yes.
    Signature

    Making Calls To Sell Something? What are you actually saying?
    Is there any room for improvement? Want to find out?

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7054388].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by helisell View Post

      Just go and ask them.

      What I mean is...visit a typical client of the type you'd like to attract.

      Tell them what you do and then ask if you can pick their brain for 10 minutes.

      Ask them a few questions like...."You're a busy business owner, now that you know what I do, what would you say was the best way for me to contact business owners like you to explain my service to them"

      You'll get a lot more sense out of them than you'll get on here because most of us are 'online business owners' so what do we know about the best way to contact 'offline business owners'

      Tip: When you very first approach them say "I run a different business to yours......would you let me pick your brain for 5 minutes" they ALWAYS say yes.
      This is one of the few times I wish I could hit the 'Thanks' button more than once.

      Another thing to ask them about is how their business flows. For example, in my neck of the woods, there are two distinct marketing seasons for restaurants. Logically enough, locals call them 'season' and 'not season'.

      'Season' is all about the tourists and snowbirds who come for anywhere from a few days to a few months, then head back north. 'Not season' is about keeping enough of the locals coming to sustain business and keep staff working until the next 'season'.

      Knowing this, you will be better equipped to position your services, with different campaigns for each marketing season.

      But the bottom line is, if you sit down for short conversations with real business owners in the market you want to serve and leave your salesman hat in the car, they'll tell you what you need to know.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7054466].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mobileloyal
    Thanks for the quick feedback. Joey, what would be the best route for me to research the market? I know I can send out a smaller amount of flyers but how do I know if it means that there is no need for service or simply that those business owners didn't take the time to look at my flyer. I guess what I'm trying to figure out (and I'm sure we all are) is, how do I get offline business owners to even consider my service.

    I'm just getting started & will be cold calling locally in the very near future. I'm also selling my service nationally so I'm really trying to figure out how to reach business owners without actually being there in person.

    Thanks again for your input!
    Roddy
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7054461].message }}

Trending Topics