In my opinion one of the most powerful statements you can create for your business is your Vision Statement.  It also tends to be one of the most difficult statements for us to create.   Why do you think this is?

Is it because it’s difficult for us to articulate where we want to be in 5-10 years?  Is it fear that if we write a Vision and do not achieve that vision we’ve somehow failed?  I’m not entirely sure what the answer is, but I do know that during my 4 years of teaching at Red Deer College, creating a Vision statement can be a little challenging for some.

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In order to market effectively you need to know who exactly it is that you are marketing to. The more you understand and define your market, the better you can market directly to those individuals.  

When you are determining your target market think about the following:

Geographics.  The Geographic’s represent or describe individuals who live in a certain area.

Demographics.  Demographics are the qualities and characteristics of your target market. They include age, gender, culture, employment, industry, income level, marital status, etc.

Psychographics’.  Psychographics’ makes up the emotional and behaviour of your target market. They include the emotion, logic and thought processes behind your target markets decision to purchase your product or services.

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I have to honestly say that the Virtual Assistant Profession has to be one of the most supportive professions there is.  The feeling of community is one of the reasons why I love being a VA.  Being a part of a community, whether it is a person-to person community or a virtual community, for me is really the “heart” of being a Virtual Assistant. 

As an instructor for Red Deer Colleges’ Virtual Assistant Certificate Program where I teach marketing, I am sometimes asked the question, “What does building community have to do with building a business, where is the connection?”   So, I’d like to share with you what I share with them.

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As a business owner, providing great customer service is the most effective and least expensive way of marketing.  In my humble opinion, I believe that majority of a small businesses marketing time and budget should be spent on building solid relationships with clients and prospective clients.

In my 10 years in business, relationship based marketing has been the single most effective way I have marketed my business. For me the key part of relationship based marketing is being customer service driven and providing a continuous value-added approach.  To date, majority of my clients, at least 80-90% have been a direct result of referrals from individuals who I have developed a relationship with and who are happy and content with my services, enough so to spread the word.

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