Brilliant, talented and often too modest professionals often complain about hating marketing themselves, because they dislike talking about themselves. “I don’t want to promote myself, I’d rather have happy clients recommend me,” is what they say to me.
I completely understand. I would, too. If it only didn’t take that long…
Fortunately, there are things that can be done to speed up the process of organic growth of word-of-mouth marketing:
- Provide the best service possible. Underpromise. Overdeliver. Happy clients naturally talk about you.
- If only starting out, get some practice clients. I am not an advocate of pro-bono work at the early stages. Sure, you need 2 or 3 cases of work to include in your portfolio and you can do those for free. But as soon as possible, start charging, even if it is at a fraction of your desired rate. People appreciate the service that they pay for differently than the free one. You will also feel a different kind of motivation and will offer a better service if you will be getting paid for it.
- Nurture contact with your past clients or leads. This can be done in person, via email or on social media. Ask them for a recommendation, when appropriate. Ask them for feedback: it can either help you improve your service or make you pleasantly surprised at the impact you had on their life. Ask them about their problems to get to know them (and people like them) a little bit better.
- Make it easy for them to talk about you. Provide good content that they are willing to share with their circle of friends. Stay on top of their mind by keeping in touch regularly – on social media, via email or even better, personally.
