Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR, reflects on a recent experience to offer wise words on establishing and maintaining dream clients.
Normally on the last Wednesday of the month (as I write this column) I am getting ready to give a talk to local entrepreneurs about how to grow their business through marketing, or basically “getting and keeping customers.”
In the end, when you strip off all the bells and whistles, that’s what marketing is.
However, two things have changed this time:
- I had to bring the meeting forward because next week is my wedding anniversary.
- The venue has just pulled the rug from under me and cancelled the event!
So it is not going ahead and instead I will be running BONUS content at the September event. Guess what, it won’t be at this venue!
The funny thing is, the topic for the night was going to be ‘Build Your Perfect Dream List’, essentially a properly conceived list of your IDEAL clients who you will proactively target. This list is about the quality of the people within it not the quantity, you might only have 20 or 30 people or businesses on it. This means you can properly focus on marketing to them with meaningful content, offers and services.
It is a far more measured approach than the usual ‘spray and pray’ I see far too often from businesses, or the “oh our solution is suited to EVERYBODY” – newsflash, it isn’t. However it is PERFECT for some – focus on them. When you do, you can actually spend more money on attracting these customers and in turn they will spend more money with you because you are PERFECT for them too.
Now you’d think given the struggles of the last few years that for a pub with an event space, 15 local business owners in a room every month might be approaching a DREAM LIST, especially as we tend to add a new face each month. It appears not.
They didn’t call me, they emailed to ask if I could shift the event, got my out of office and didn’t even follow up. They just cancelled it and when I sought clarification yesterday, the day before the event remember, they said (and I quote): “Sorry my booking takes priority, so I will have to postpone your meeting.” Note the use of “my” – incredible.
Just to put this in context, I have run the event here for the last 5 consecutive months and was going to for the rest of the year. WAS.
Now I imagine they have been approached by someone with deeper pockets for a one off event but how short-sighted is this? Would you want 15 punters (and growing) every month who run local businesses or a one off? Considering my crowd will spend in the bar before and after too and might also want to hire that space? So there will be no “postponement” at the venue, there will be no event there ever again.
The members who were coming all know that this has happened and will draw their own conclusions about the culture of this venue, which until now I have personally LOVED to go to with friends and business associates outside of these monthly events. Hence why I held it there.
I won’t be so crass as to name names in this column or indeed on social media but I hope this might serve as a reminder that whilst marketing tends to focus on filling the sink with leads, it is no use whatsoever if someone pulls the plug out. That venue has zero chance of me ever using it again or recommending it and who knows, maybe I am not their DREAM client after all and neither are the members who were coming along. Meanwhile, if you are a Nottingham-based business owner and fancy popping along to the next event or would like more information (venue to be announced!), just let me know and I will sort you out with a free monthly membership.
A former business journalist, Greg Simpson is the author of The Small Business Guide to PR and has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 5 PR consultants, having set up Press for Attention PR in 2008.
He has worked for FTSE 100 firms, charities and start-ups and conducted press conferences with Sir Richard Branson and James Caan. His background ensures a deep understanding of every facet of a successful PR campaign – from a journalist’s, client’s, and consultant’s perspective.
See this column in the September edition of East Midlands Business Link Magazine.
