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Are you looking for ways to be different than your competitors?
This one phrase could propell you ahead of your competition. It is only the fist part of November and I already hear people talking about planning for 2014 and making plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is how most people view this time of year. People are checking how many days of vacation they have left and how they are going to take it easy till the start of 2014.
Can you really afford to “Take it Easy” right now, or anytime? I watch people get layed off of jobs and these people are the same ones who saved up 2- 3 weeks of vacation for the end of the year or they take off a week around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I understand family needs to come first, but be careful. Are you setting yourself up for companies to be comfortable with you not around?
Now is the time to really make a difference! I enjoy this time of the year! You as a marketer can use this time of year to your advantage to meet with clients and gain some exposure for yourself and your company. Most marketers get lazy this time of year and have already told themselves that clients are not interested in your products or services. For some this might be true, but for others this may not be the case.
It is always a good time of the year to come up with some final year savings promotions. In addition, it is a great time to send a card of thanks or a general “hello message”.
As far as tradeshows, November and December are great times to attend shows and touch base with clients and get a feel for how their year went and what they can expect in 2014.
The driver for me is that next, “new client”, or new service idea. I really like to use this time to find out what clients like about our companys’ service and what they do not like. In addition, I give them a preview of projects we will be working on in 2014. Clients want to work with companies that are innovative and exciting.
If I tell my clients I plan on taking the month of December off, what message am I really saying to my clients and staff? Its this really the picture I want to portray?
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
