New way of getting B2B customers

Hi guys, is there anyone out there??

Has anyone got any advice/thoughts on it?

Paul

Sorry Paul, you obviously slipped through the cracks.

Question 1, does your friend have a decent marketing budget (5 zero's would be a good starting point )

The idea itself is sound, but if I go to the time and trouble to post my details, ideal customer etc, from a standing start, how long will it take before the site generates enough local traffic to warrant any genuine responses. Time is precious, and people going to the trouble of filling in your forms will expect results, (as you did on this forum).

So who will ever see my post, meaning no leads, and no referral cash for you friend, to invest back into the site and grow it. So where will the revenue come from? I figure he needs at least 24 months budget for overheads before any money starts coming in.

No point going down the adsense/adverts route, because without traffic it's worthless.

Sorry to be a bit doom and gloom, but I'm just realistic, as I know how hard it is to start large sites that are dependant on referall traffic, (I'm working on my 5th) which is why I ask the question about marketing budget.

Otherwise it's a pipedream, with a few contacts, minimal exposure and no traffic/marketing plan

But if you have a budget, spent wisely, anything is possible

Thanks for this Steve

Hi Paul

The Linked In approach is a great idea, especially if you joined relevant discussion groups, with a decent membership.

Me personally, I've always gone down the free/freemium road at the project start and used PPC as a bumpstart to get traffic flowing, test conversions and work out what keywords are worth optimising for. I then allow 12 months for optimisation and organic traffic to really kick in, after which time you should have enough traction to turn on revenue options.

Being free also limits negative feedback as you can set user expectations

Low cost options are things like banners on various sites that you think may be a potential traffic source. People look down on banners these days, but they still have their place. Forums are the other easy one, plenty of trade specific forums are floating around. Professional bodies, trade associations, all a good source of potential clients, and maybe possible partnership opportunities.

But I think your long term model is organic traffic, so build and construct the site with this in mind, URL structure, content, categories, snippets etc, and once this flows, you'll have cracked it. Plus you'll find people will start contacting you with opportunities.

Well said, PPC is actually a good way to kick start getting leads to your business. Slowly it generates organic traffic too. Social media should be constantly on through this as it generates brand awareness. In the long run try to achieve customer loyalty through your work on social media. Interact and engage. Think beyond a sale. But well, that is after you get your first few sales atleast.

These are some great pointers guys