What’s that saying? “Keep your friends close, keep your enemies even closer.” In business, we call this coopetition–working with companies with similar interests or a similar business model to build your business profile or reach some common goal.
I recently started working with other bookkeeping, accounting firms and solo bookkeepers to increase my business visibility. Thankfully, this practice has also increased my revenue this year. It’s just one of the ways to bring more visibility to your small or medium sized business. Here are some additional ways to help you to build your business visibility:
- COLLABORATE – Whether you practice coopetition regularly or collaborate with similar companies on a project, collaboration among similar businesses can work if you partner with a company that is either larger or smaller. Larger businesses may have too many clients and need help on a project. Smaller businesses may not have the manpower to take on a new client, but may be willing to pass on that client to a company in return for future work from you.
- NETWORK – A great way to build your company’s visibility is to get out there and meet as many people as possible. Join professional organizations in your line of work, such as the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers. There’s practically an organization for every profession.
- SOCIAL & TRADITIONAL MEDIA– These days almost all businesses have a Facebook page or Twitter handle. We do too. Statistics show it takes approximately seven touches to acquire someone’s attention. The more people hear about you, especially if you can create a newsworthy event for traditional media outlets to cover, the more visibility your company will receive. You may also want to send out a monthly, bi-monthly or weekly newsletter, but make sure the content is of value to your readers.
- DONATE OR VOLUNTEER – Another way for more people to learn about your business is by giving back to your community. Some companies ask their employees to volunteer by helping at a local charity. Another form of giving back is to donate a silent auction item to your local church or charitable organization. The item can be written off and the visibility and good deed are priceless.
We hope you will try one or all of these tips to build the visibility of your business, and that it results in added revenue and more clients.
This coming month, our company hopes to elevate its visibility as BRIGADE BOOKKEEPING. That’s right, we’re changing our name, but not what we do! We will still be here for our clients, keeping the books up-to-date. The biggest difference is that Brigade Bookkeeping can also come to you and work at your office in addition to ours. Standby, more details to come soon.
Until then, have a wonderful week!
