Last weekend, I was hanging out with a friend in Batu Pahat Johor. We had a great coffee session at Kopikhu, a coffee joint in the middle of the town. It was raining subtly during that time and we sat outside of the cafe to enjoy the breeze.
FYI, my friend here has a small printing company. He told me that his business is doing alright. Obviously things can be better, he added, to cope with uncertainties out there. He asked me how best to quickly grow the business without having to spend too much investment for it. He knew that I’m into marketing strategy, hence the question.
Usually I don’t simply share things related to marketing strategy especially on what works and what doesn’t, in a conversation. I would write about it and park the how-to and ideas on Pelantar. But not that day. I just jumped in and shared with him my thoughts at no charge.
I told him to start small and do just a few practical but impactful things first. I said to him, do these efforts consistently and the results will be significantly noticeable in 2-3 months.
First, create Google Business Profile, keep it updated and regularly post some stuff in there. Get as many genuine and authentic reviews there too. Reply to all comments and messages. Second, create a Facebook Page. While doing exactly the same as per his activities on GBP, I suggested to him to set aside no more than $20 a day for ads. If the ads meet his objectives, then keep going at $20 a day. If not, turn off that ad set and launch a second creative and start again. And third, register his business profile on as many online directories as possible. Keep an eye on all comments and incoming messages there too.
I said to him, have faith. This tactic, although sounds like “wtf, this is too simple.” Relax, these will work. They’re tested many times before. I’ve personally tested them, a few selected friends of mine also tried them out and some of the start-ups I knew also got their hands into these as well.
If you face a similar lead-gen problem, do not stare at the wall for too long and do nothing. Execute the 3 things above.
