Marketing a Computer Consulting Business: The Basics

Marketing a computer consulting business needn’t be complicated or expensive, but it’s easy to get it wrong, and to spend money that you don’t need to.

In this article, we concentrate on the real basics of promoting your IT consultancy. You should make sure you’ve got all of these bits right, before you even start to think about things like advertising. 

1. Establish exactly what you’re offering. 

The one thing you don’t want to do is take a “scattergun” approach to marketing your business. You need to spend some time thinking about exactly what your business is setting out to achieve, otherwise you run the risk of coming across as a “jack of all trades” to potential clients. 

In the early days of building your business, this may seem to go against basic logic, as you’re probably keen to get your hands on any clients you can, but it’s better to have at least a medium-term strategy in mind. Try to visualize your target market and research that market to find out what your potential prospects want. Have a think about whether you want to target any particular vertical markets, or specialise in any specific services. 

If you don’t have what you’re offering clear in your own head, you’re never going to manage to explain it to potential customers. 

2. Set up your website. 

Having a clean and modern website is an essential these days, especially if you’re working in a technical marketplace. After all, customers will have little faith in your technical ability if you can’t put a decent website together.

The time you’ve spent establishing your service offering will pay dividends here, as you should find yourself able to put a clear message across. There’s no need to have a website that’s packed with content at this stage, but it does need to look the part, and clearly explain what you’re offering to clients.

Finally, with many people now browsing the Web using mobile devices, you must make sure it’s mobile friendly too. 

3. Establish your social networking presence. 

A social networking presence isn’t a luxury nowadays. People will expect you to have one. Thankfully, setting up accounts for your business on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is free and straightforward.

Once the accounts are ready, you can begin to build up your initial network of followers and start to get the word out about your business. Your friends and family will help you get the word out without it costing you anything. Just make sure you keep your social feeds up to date, and that the image is consistent with what you’re putting across on your website.

How would you go about marketing a computer consulting business? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments box below.

And to follow-through on the tips introduced in this short article, be sure to download your free copy of the special report on the Top 10 IT Marketing Strategies For Consistently Attracting New Business Clients to Your Small IT Business.