Here’s a good test of your marketing area. Where are your new customers coming from?

Pull or push?

In other words, are new customers coming in to you or do you have to go out to find them? Some of the best businesses have the prospects coming in to see them.

What is your ratio between pull and push?

If it’s very heavy towards the push side, perhaps there’s something you could consider working on:

1. Take a look at your website. How inviting is it? Does it have a call to action? Do you capture information about your visitors?

2. Newsletter. Do you have an electronic newsletter?

3. Do you use direct mail at all? Could it be applicable to your industry?

4. Search engine optimization. How optimized is your site for getting picked up by search engines?

5. Online advertising. Do you engage in pay-per-click?

6. Traditional advertising. What role does traditional advertising play in your marketing mix, whether in general business areas or in specific trade journals?

7. Promotion. Are there promotions that can help keep your name out in front?

8. Referral sources. What kind of referral sources do you have? What kind of incentive do you give them?

The list can go on. Think of the many things that you can be doing to draw customers in to come see you. Tilt the scale more towards pull rather than push. Keep a steady flow of prospects coming in to you and you never be hurting for business.

Jon Paul, MBA, CPA, CMC, CM&AA

President, Value Added Finance Resources
Bringing new insights on results and maximizing company value