What business are you in?

Apr 24

Copywriting, Image & Identity, Intangibles, Planning & Strategy, Public Relations, Selling Techniques Add comments

business identity question What business are you in? Seems like a simple question, doesn’t it. What business are you in?

Chance are, though, if you have been in business for a few years, your business has evolved, morphed, or changed either by choice, or by circumstance.

Since you’re immersed in your business, daily, you may not even be aware how much evolution has occurred. Even more critical, your clients and referral contacts are probably not up to speed. One would like to think that everyone knows all that you do, but often there is a huge blind spot.

You may have started as a balloon artist, and now you supply gift baskets. Are you in the balloon business or the event decor business? AND, in the corporate gifts business.

You may have started as a mobile DJ service. Then, over time, added lighting, karaoke, dancers, interactive games, live bands, and props. If you’re still promoting your business, primarily as a DJ service, your public identity is not clear.

Even a videographer, that has added photography, needs to make a new distinction. This example is a great example because in the buying timeline for weddings, photography usually is chosen, prior to videography. Therefore, videography leads flow nicely from photography; however, if a prospect is coming to you, solely for videography, they may already have selected their photographer.

The basic marketing principle is this: In the case of most service business, one can increase overall sales by cross-selling the full range of your services. Your existing clients and referral contacts offer the least resistance, because they are already happily dealing with you.

Take a few people to lunch, and bring them current on all that you offer, and how you identify your business. At the recent NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) conference, I sat in on a WEVA (Wedding and Event Videographers Association) meeting. The WEVA path is to introduce the term, ‘Digital Memories’ into the lexicon. That’s more all encompassing.

Going further, there is now technology that will allow videographers to generate still photos from their recordings. That creates a whole new source for wedding photos. Think of the possibilities.

Your wedding marketing assignment:

Take inventory of what you do. Reframe it in a succinct way. Make certain that what you do is clearly communicated in all your media. Have lunch with your key referral contacts.

I invite your comments as you progress with your homework