Three clients we won through Linkedin
Online networking is close to the top of my list of tips for businesses that want their marketing budgets to go further. And, in a business-to-business context LinkedIn is probably top of my list of specific platforms to master. Whether you’re a sole trader or freelancer, a small business stretching a modest marketing budget, or a sales person in a large corporate, time spent on LinkedIn can definitely be a profitable investment.
I see scepticism from many quarters. Many people don’t believe that senior decision-makers can be reached in this way, or that any projects with significant fees attached are ever discussed in these settings. So, here are three specific examples of clients I’ve secured for my marketing consultancy business through leads that originated in LinkedIn. The cumulative fee income across these clients stands at over £170,000. And, here’s how they came our way…
Responding to a group discussion: Clear Thought completed a 12-month marketing transformation for small business ISP, Gradwell in December 2009. They were our very first client. The lead for this major project came from LinkedIn. Managing director, Peter Gradwell, posted a discussion in LinkedIn group for marketers in Bath & Bristol, to which I responded. He then invited three of the respondents to present in person, from which we were appointed. (See full case study)
Showing up in advanced search: Another of our 12-month clients, Connect Assist, also came to us as a lead through LinkedIn. The company CEO picked up the phone to his chairman to talk through their requirement for strategic marketing consultancy. He, in turn, spoke to his public relations consultant. She recognised that to fulfil the requirement she needed some strategic marketing input and used LinkedIn to search for ‘marketing strategy’ within 20 miles of Bath. My profile came up and she dropped me a line via the website that was listed on my profile. We submitted a successful joint proposal, and have subsequently been retained to oversee a marketing transformation programme. (See case study)
Staying in touch with old contacts: Those are both examples of leads from previously unknown contacts. But, don’t discount people you’ve known for a while. One of our smaller strategic marketing projects was a start-up launch for events compliance specialists, Relevant Risk. This project came our way from a contact I’d stayed in touch with – MD, Alison McDougall, since her previous company delivered an event for my team when I was marketing director at Experian. When we made contact on LinkedIn, I wasn’t running Clear Thought, and she wasn’t running Relevant Risk. Following my LinkedIn status updates through the news feed as a connection, Alison had seen our case studies, blogs and service updates, and that one of her ex-employees was now with us – and when the time came to launch her business, she got back in touch. (See case study)
So, how’s your Linkedin profile looking? Is it working hard enough for your business?
By Bryony Thomas | Chief Clear Thinker | Clear Thought Consulting Ltd | @bryonythomas | www.clear-thought.co.uk
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Clear Thought Consulting works with small businesses, equipping them with the marketing strategies, suppliers, skills and set-up that they need to become bigger businesses. We do this by planning and delivering 12-month marketing transformation programmes – supporting a small business through a step-by-step process to making marketing pay. We firmly believe that when you can’t out-spend your competition, you have to out-think them.
Published on 15 February 2011
