Question

Topic: Strategy

How Do I Find Market A Service

Posted by thutton1990 on 8/10/2016 at 5:36 PM ET 500 Points
Hi all,

I'm going to be starting a computer repair service. However, I'm not sure how to write articles to generate leads for an audience. I'm local, and Ann Handley's book Everybody Writes writes like it's geared towards companies marketing on a national/international scale.

How can I find appropriate materials (what kind of news would legitimize my business, that my customers will be looking for) and still market to a local customer base.

Thanks
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 8/10/2016 at 7:15 PM Member
    Where is local, for you?

    It may be that articles are a waste of your time for you, and that instead, what you really need is local search visibility. So, where are you, geographically, and how far will clients travel to come to you, or vice versa?
  • Posted on 8/10/2016 at 7:21 PM Member
    Start with your audience. Who are you writing for? What questions do they have that you can answer? What needs can you fill for them? If you don't know then find existing/past/potential customers and interview them. Ask them what it is they want from a computer repair service? These will be your writing topics.

    Next it is a matter of publishing platform. Do you have your own website? You can use local SEO tactics to help draw leads to it (but be aware SEO takes time, there is no golden ticket to driving traffic.) You might also consider guest blogging for other local businesses that already have readers who are your target audience. Then there's your local paper, see if you can get interviewed or get a press release published.

    Social media is an important part of your content marketing mix. You can start developing a local following if you provide high quality content that answers the questions we talked about above.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/10/2016 at 7:49 PM Accepted
    Don't passively write articles and hope that will generate leads for you. You need to pick up the phone and/or walk up to local office front desks. By the time someone needs you, they need to contact someone they trust - not simply a name that's anonymous. Join a local business networking group. Offer a free or discounted network security check-up. Offer to help repair a local non-profit's or church's computers for free or low-cost to generate some PR. Build up a 5-star Yelp following. Are you a certified repair person? If so, make sure you prospects know that you can be trusted. What can you offer your prospects that others can't/won't? Weekend repairs? After-hours repairs? Guaranteed repairs? Free equipment swaps to ensure no downtime?
  • Posted by thutton1990 on 8/11/2016 at 12:58 AM Author
    @Gary Bloomer Local is within 15-30 minutes directions anywhere. I guess visibility is the name of the game. Thanks!

    @AlexaSteele Thanks, but I'm thinking that I won't write articles because my goal is to get my name out to be known.

    @Jay Hamilton-Roth I really enjoy your explanation. The name of the game is visiblity + credibility. And you gave me some good notes on how to do it.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 8/11/2016 at 6:48 PM Member
    Visibility is NOT the name of the game if you can't state the city, state, or ZIP code in which you offer services. I don't answer questions on this forum for points, I answer questions to help people improve their marketing.

    Unless you live in BFMoN, for a local business service delivery, fully 90 percent of your business will come from people living within a 15 - 45 minute drive. Allowing for rush hour traffic, this means a catchment area of 25 miles from where you are right now.

    If or when i'm in need of your kind of service delivery, I'll be searching online for specific keyword phrases. Unless or until your business's website pops up on the first page of the major search engines in response to my search criteria, you do not exist. If your business website is on page 2 (or, God forbid, on page 3 of Google), you might as well be invisible. Articles probably won't get you ranked in the way you thing they will. But other ranking elements WILL get you ranked, and they'll get you ranked on page 1 of Google, which is where you need to be for local search results.

    And in response to your response to Jay (above), while there's a degree of truth in your statement, the far greater truth lies in your ability to attract attention through your ability to fix people's computer issues, and in your ability to attract and then follow up on leads.
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