By Bernadette Peters, Natural Marketing Services, LLC

It’s a NEW year with a NEW economy. Ask any business owner if they are doing anything differently this year for their marketing, and you will hear a resounding YES! . . . even if they don’t know what it is yet.

With a pinch on budgets and the inundation of high tech marketing communications, professionals are returning to a high-touch, relationship-oriented approach to marketing. Here at Natural Marketing we call it grassroots strategies. The origin of these marketing programs is PEOPLE. Networking relationships and strategic partners become the catalyst for effective marketing, cost-effective co-marketing and an abundance of referrals. So how can you best leverage your contacts and partners?

New Relationships

Long gone are the days of rubbing elbows at the Chamber of Commerce meeting, handing out a plethora of cards, and expecting the phone to ring the next day at the office. In fact, this strategy has been ineffective for some time. Building new relationships takes time and energy, but the pay-off can be amazingly fruitful.

Figure out where to go first.
Don’t load up on networking meetings unless you are just checking them out to see if they meet your criteria for a good association. Ideally, you will want to narrow down your associations to around three (or whatever you can be actively involved in without losing your mind. You can join a close-contact group, trade association, community-based organization, business group, etc. There are few things to consider when selecting an organization.

  o members: are key influencers in the community, prospective referring partners? who attends the meetings?

  o resources: do they give you access to member contact information and opportunities to meet key contacts?

  o cost: is it worth the dues and time required?

  o involvement opportunities: can you volunteer or serve on a committee for maximum exposure?

Reach out 4 times in 3 weeks:
Marketing experts say that we must touch a new prospect 3-4 times in the first 2-3 weeks after meeting them in order to solidify the relationship. That may seem like you are being a pest, but if you reach out through a variety of channels you are remembered without being annoying. Mixing communication channels can be as simple as an email, letter and phone call. The key is to give first and ask for something later, and tie in to the previous communication.

You can speed up this process by having a series of templates that you customize: your phone call scripts, emails and mailers. Now if you really want to make a friend, give first. Don’t sell anything or ask for anything in the first couple of touches. This opens the contact up and motivates reciprocation.

- connect with them on a personal level (shared interests, family, common causes, etc.)
- explore the possibilities of a strategic alliance or co-marketing
- ask for their advice or expertise (if it doesn’t require a lot of their time)
- ask for a referral to a service-provider in their sphere of influence
- offer free advise, an article or tool in an area of pain that they have expressed

Once these several touches have been made, you can touch that person periodically throughout the year, including sending them your newsletter (with permission of course).