Good Marketing, Good Business

083: Established Businesses, These Strategies Are For You

• Shannon Stone • Episode 83

Share episode

Been in business a while? It’s time to reap the (marketing) rewards! And to do this you must know what you can leverage thanks to the business you’ve created which has lasted through the decades.

By listening [and taking notes], you’ll learn:

  • Seven different strategies that are unique to established businesses
  • How embracing the authentic elements of your business can put you in front
  • Even if your business is simply heads-down and doing great work, how to apply a humble brag 

Enjoy!

Resources:


If you’d like to work together with me as your 1:1 business and marketing consultant, book a call here.

Shannon Stone:

Hey guys. Welcome to the podcast.

Shannon Stone:

Very excited to share this episode with you today where we are talking about some almost secret strategies specifically for established businesses. So if you've been in business for a good while I guess the definitions that I give for an established business is one that you have clients you've been around for some length of time. Generally, my mind always goes to they've been in business for 10 plus years, but obviously you can have established businesses who have been even around five years. I think once you really hit that five-year mark, that is one of those critical stages where they say, once you reach five years, you're pretty likely to stay in business, but generally the ones that I help have been in business for 10, 20, 30 years, and what I love about businesses that have been around for so long is they have this. Basically, they're sitting on a goldmine of what would you call it, I guess, an angle, but I don't want to really give it that type of label because I don't want it to sound like a tactic or something that's really just as a way to create marketing out of. But established businesses really do have an edge that's probably the best way to say it. They have an edge over any other business.

Shannon Stone:

And when I share what we're going to share with you today, which is seven different strategies, these just cut through what no one else can. No one else can fabricate these. You have to have been an established business to utilize these strategies. Now, everyone can use these strategies, but it's the established business that really makes the difference. So let's jump into it. There's seven to share with you. There is an action step right at the end to make sure that you do apply this, but I really think the best way, as you listen to this episode and you might want to listen to it twice is to answer these seven as we go through. So you might want to write it down as we go through. So you might want to write it down as we go through, because then you can easily start applying it. So let's jump into it.

Shannon Stone:

Number one the first strategy that you can really leverage in your marketing is the number of years you've been in business. It sounds so simple, but have you ever heard someone and I get this a lot because I know I look so much younger than I am on paper but when I share or other businesses share, how long they've been in business? So for me, this is my 10 years in business this October. I started in 2015. So when someone shares how long they've been in business, automatically that builds a level of trust, a level of this person or this business, this organization, are obviously doing something right. So if you've been in business for 27 years, 15 years, 8 years, however long it is, really use that as a marker in your marketing. In the action step, we'll talk about some ways that you can apply this, but the first one is the number of years you've been in business. It definitely establishes a lot of trust in your brand, in your business, and it's something that a new business, an AI built or AI leveraged business none of these things can compete with the length of years you've been in business. So that is number one.

Shannon Stone:

Number two is the results that you've helped your clients and even your business to achieve. When I talk about results in this case, I want to talk about it in a quantitative type of way. So, for example, maybe if you are a marketing-based business, for example, maybe your clients have a collective increase of lead generation, or maybe it's that you deliver on your services within a specific timeframe, or maybe when and I'm not just talking about marketing businesses or types of businesses maybe once they receive your services, there's a domino effect that happens from there. Or if you have an X number success rate helping people to process their loans, for example, if you're in finance, what are the results that you help your clients and your business to achieve? And this is one you really want to sit down, and I like to do this based on your specific clients, like if you think of 5, 10, 20 clients, if you want to go that deep, even just 5, think about okay, what are some results we helped them to achieve? Okay, once their website went live within the first 7 days, x, y, z happened. They had an increase in traffic, increase in leads, increase in inquiries. So you want to think about what are those really specific results that you've helped people to achieve. Now couple that with the number of years in business so you can say for the last 25 years we've been helping businesses to X, y and Z. Share that quantitative result. These are the things that help you to leverage your business over anyone else's. So number two is results.

Shannon Stone:

Number three is the number of clients that you work with or have worked with. So over the X amount of time you've been in business, how many clients have you worked with in that time? Now, every single business is entirely different, so it doesn't need to be tens of thousands of businesses. If you're a business that works in a boutique style, maybe it's you work with a dozen or a couple of dozen clients or a handful of clients at any point in time. I never want to fabricate any type of marketing, any type of thing, just for marketing sake. I look at what is actually going on and then use that to our advantage. So if you do only work with a small number of clients at any point in time, just say that and say for what reason? Because you work in a really intricate way, because you're very client-centric business and the way that you work means that you do only want to work with a certain number of people. But number three is the number of clients that you've worked with. So you can share this based on that length of time you've been in business, how many clients you've worked with over that course, as well as how many clients you work with at any point in time as well, on average. So that's a really nice way to leverage another strategy for your established business.

Shannon Stone:

Number four is the industries. So how many industries have you worked with over that course of time? There's a couple of ways that you can do this, because I know some businesses are very niched or they focus on a particular niche, but even within that niche there might be some subcategories within that. So maybe you focus on one particular niche, but within that do you work with big and small ends of that market? So you want to talk about what that actually looks like. So again, we're not fabricating anything. It doesn't have to mean you've worked with 10 or more different industries, but if you have definitely work out what that number is. That's why I said pace yourself as you go through this episode, maybe pause it, answer it, think about it or listen it back a second time and make sure you're taking notes. Side note, we've always got the transcript there as well. I always find that really helpful to kind of just reference a written version of the podcast.

Shannon Stone:

Okay, so yes, number four is the industries. The industries that you work with. And if you do, if you are a super niche focused business, use that to your advantage. We only work with these type of businesses, or 80% of our business focuses on this particular niche. For my consulting, for example, 80-90% of my clientele are all B2B service-based businesses. So overall, I only work with service-based businesses. It's very rare that I work with someone outside of that scope, but within that, 80-90% are B2B service-based businesses. The other 10% to 20% are professional services. So something like that. That's some ways that you can talk about it. Okay, that is number four industries.

Shannon Stone:

Number five is geography. So remember, you're an established business, you've been around for a length of time, so how far wide has your services extended? This is really a really nice way to just, I guess, paint the picture of how impactful your business has been. And again, we're not fabricating anything. If you've been a very localized business, use that to your advantage. If you've been the go-to or you've serviced a intimate number of businesses in your I don't know 20, 50k radius in your city, either by choice or because that's the nature of your business, 100%, claim that in your marketing. But if you work with clients across the East Coast or all capital cities across Australia or your country, or if you work with, you could say predominantly our clients are the East Coast of Australia Brisbane, sydney, melbourne but we do have clients in Perth and New Zealand as well as a couple of other English speaking countries like the US and the UK. Now, that is my business to a T. I work with businesses across the East Coast capital cities, generally some clients in New Zealand and then English speaking countries for the most part, so UK and US, and there's always that micro number where you get people outside of those locations as well. So that's a really nice way to claim how far and wide your business has been impacting your clients.

Shannon Stone:

So geography think about that. What has that actually looked like? Another nice way with geography is how that's allowed people. So if geography has been something that has played a part in your business. Maybe the services that you provide have allowed people to go off into certain locations, like I've had clients who purchased properties because of the growth of their business in certain locations. Like I've had clients who have purchased properties because of the growth of their business in certain locations. Or they've been able to travel because of how their business had evolved and transformed, and so you could name. So just sharing this as an example of because of the nature of your business, because of the services and the people that you help, has your business have been able to impact people in a geography sense. So that's number five. Think about that one. All right, we've got number six and seven to go. So number six, definitely for our established businesses, is to name drop. So this can be big and small. So I've kind of categorized this one into two.

Shannon Stone:

So if you've worked with some really significant businesses, clients, people, I think there's nothing wrong with doing a little humble brag. If you've worked with some really great, amazing, successful people, I think it's perfectly fine to make some of those mentions. Obviously, unless they're the spokesperson of your business or the mascot of your business, you know they're not there to have their face and their stuff center stage, but where relevant and in the way that it makes sense for your business and for that particular person you're name dropping Like I would only name drop in a way that made sense if that person was standing right there when you name drop them. So if that's almost like the radar to kind of come back to, if you say it in a cringy way and if they were right there you never would have said it in that type of way then that's just my, that's the way I would approach it and I would suggest people to approach it. Obviously you do you, but I think it is a really great way to, I guess, leverage the great work that you've done. And it almost comes with the nature of what you do and having been an established business, the more that you go on, the more that you're going to work with probably more significant people and more significant names. So that's, I guess, something they're like the brownie points you get for being in business for the length of time you have been. The other side of name dropping and this is one that is definitely usable across the board and I do encourage it is when you've worked with smaller names as well, because why this is powerful is because it makes you and your business and your clients relatable. So we're not all working with household names and things like that, but generally you are working with very relatable people, just like you and me. So in what ways can you describe that? And maybe it's through some of your testimonials, maybe it's sharing some of that story and that case study, but name dropping is a really nice way to showcase your business and the great work that you've done and the people that you've impacted as well. And using that radar point, as you know, if that person was standing right there would I say these things about them. We're not doing it in a way to win business in a really cringy way. We're doing it as a way to showcase what a great business you've had and some of the success that you've been able to create.

Shannon Stone:

Okay, that is number six. Now the last one, number seven, again coming back to. These, are strategies, particularly for established businesses, and these are ones that I truly believe, like a year or two year old business can't claim these things the same way that someone that has been in business for 5, 10, 20, 30 years. So number seven is probably almost the most important one, and that is the sustainability and future vision of your business. So what is the direction moving forward of your business? Is it to continue on that same trajectory that you've been on? Have you got an evolved or next level vision for your business? Whatever that is and maybe you haven't thought about it, which is why it's great to think about it as we discuss it here today so do go off and think about it some more, or do hit pause or do come back a second time and listen to this. So you've got some further answers and thoughts around it.

Shannon Stone:

But what really is that future vision of your business? I really believe when you share that with people, especially being an established business, they're going to trust you so much more. Because you've been around for x amount of time, you know you're not a business that's here today, gone tomorrow. You've been around for a really long time. So when you share that future vision of your business even if it is to stay how it has been for the most part, obviously not ignoring innovations and things that do need to evolve in your business Share what that vision looks like, because the length of time you have been in business adds such an amazing weight to the growth of your business moving forward. So I think share that with people. Share that vision If you want to go in a certain direction, expand into different markets, have introductions with different people. Who do you think people are going to extend that to? Someone who's been in business for a small amount of time or someone who's been in business for a long amount of time? I think we all know the answer to that.

Shannon Stone:

Okay, so these are the seven different strategies for established businesses. I'll run through them and we will get to the action step. Number one is the years you've been in business. Number two are the results that you've helped your clients, as well as your business, to achieve. Really focus on a quantitative side of things there. Number three is the number of clients, whether it's big or small. Number four is the industries that you've worked with, the number of industries and that can be even if you do focus on a particular niche. That is okay as well. Number five is geography and location. Across what distance has your business extended? If it has remained in a particular area, that is okay too. Just make sure you say it and for what reasons why you're passionate about it. Number six is to name drop Big and small. Big ones are great because they can help do the talking for your business, and small ones are also great because they make you relatable to your clients as well. And number seven is the sustainability and future vision of your business. What direction are you planning to go in? Okay, the action step.

Shannon Stone:

So I said, answer all of those as you go through or come back through a second time. But like I like to do with all these episodes is I want them to be very practical so that you actually do something with it. So if you think about all of these and a lot of them, I'm sure you're like, yes, that is a great thing to do. Or yes, yes, I do some of that, but I could be adding some more of these things into my business. Where can you actually apply this? So, a couple of places in your email signature. You can. You know, for the last years, we have helped x number of clients across 14 industries achieve blah, blah, blah, whatever it is. So it could be in your email signature. It could be like I could do, you know, when I reach 10 years in October, I could add like a little sticker or something into my email signature, whatever it might be. It could be text, could be image, could be a sticker so email signature is great A banner on your website or the top of any of your socials. The bio on your socials is really important as well, so you can take these seven that we've mentioned and pull out a couple of them. It'd be a lot if you added all seven into a sentence or two, but what are the key ones, even for the time being, for the next six to twelve months, that you really want to anchor as a part of your messaging, and this is what you can add into your bio on your socials. Pin that to the top of your social media pages as well.

Shannon Stone:

Another couple of areas and these are probably the two that I really love is when you meet people in person, how you just talk about your business. So when people like, oh, what do you do? Looking at some of these seven are some really great ways to describe what you've done, who you've done it with, for how long, and what the future looks like. So bringing this into conversations that you have with people is a really great way. And then, when we bring this down to return on investment, making sales, making conversions in business. You can bring these to your sales conversations with potential clients and it can be a great lead-in. It can be a great close when you're getting to know someone just describing some more about what you do. If you have any marketing collateral that you send to people or follow-up material, you can add some of these elements into this as well.

Shannon Stone:

And there's absolutely if we kind of end on this note, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a humble brag in business. I think it's so important for established businesses not to hide away hide away how amazing they've been. You can still be a quiet achiever. That's perfectly okay. But if you want to say a lot of things in fewer words, you would look at these seven and start to really publish and publicize these elements into your business. Obviously, you've built a really robust business, even if it has been difficult. That is literally what businesses is about. So let these ideas make it easier for you and don't be afraid of a humble brag in your business. That was a tip from my very first mentor, I think, 2016,. He was all about telling me about the humble brag being that I am often that quiet achiever as well. So I've definitely come a long way and learned to, I guess, own some of the incredible things that, whether it's I have done or my clients have done as well, it's like that thing of we can only go as far as we've been ourselves. So I know that these are definitely important for all businesses to claim. So that is what I have for you today.

Shannon Stone:

I hope you found this episode useful. If you did, I would love it if you would leave a review of the podcast wherever you have been listening to it. I would very much appreciate it, and until next time, I will chat to you very soon.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Shannon Stone

Host