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If someone asked you who your most important client is, what would you say? Your biggest? Most profitable? Newest? Or, the one with the most growth potential? It's not what I'd say and I'll tell you why.

I'm an ad man who spent the first half of my career focused on my job, and the current half focused on my clients. When my most important client (which was 2/3 of my business) left due to a management change, I was forced to do some serious soul searching. I had done a great job and was even told that I'd helped increase national sales by over 25%. Nevertheless, my client counterpart was out, and so was I. I've been told similar stories from others who'd done a great job for their clients only to have them leave for reasons beyond their control.

Granted, the ad biz is notoriously fickle. However, this stuff happens in every business, everyday. Keeping your nose to the proverbial grindstone may seem like the thing to do until one day you discover that your nose hurts and your business and career isn't taking the direction you want. It's the reason why you must constantly be promoting your skills and your business, as effectively as possible, all the time. Exactly how you do that is the challenge.

Stepping back to assess the promotion of one's own business, or career, is not easy. It's tough to have the necessary objectivity (nevermind marketing savvy) to build, and then market yourself, effectively. So, what does it actually mean to "make yourself your most important client?" Well, it starts with some basic, but very important questions:

Are you totally clear what your service is? Don't laugh. Upon deeper reflection, the answer may not be as clear as you think. Be sure your product or service fills a very real demand.

Are you totally clear who your market is? And has it changed since you last thought about it? What's your niche? Do you have one? Do you need one? Do you have multiple markets? Once again, think carefully before you respond. It's critical to be as diligent and forthright as possible.

Do you know what the perception of your service is? Are you truly in touch with how you're being perceived? These days, perception is just as important as reality, so do whatever it takes to find out and get honest with yourself.

Does the perception of your service match the reality? If the perception is better than the reality, it'll breed disappointment and bad word-of-mouth. If the perception isn't as good as the reality, then your current marketing efforts must improve.

How are you currently marketing yourself? Are your benefits clear? Do you stand out from the crowd? Merely informing people is not enough. Labels on soup cans do that. Exciting your audience to act is what it's about. If you don't excite your audience, you're sunk.

Unfortunately, it's tough to cover all the bases in a one page article. However, everyone's situation is different so it would not be professionally responsible to say much more without knowing your particular issues. Bottom line: Value your clients. Always do the best job possible for them. But remember: your most important client is you.


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For more specific marketing help, go to http://follisinc.com/therapy.htm




(c) 2002 John Follis. All rights reserved.


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