“TRY OUR TAPAS” screamed the sandwich board on the pavement outside the empty restaurant as the customers spilled out onto the pavement waiting for tables at the cafe next door. True story.

One of my clients recently did a marketing audit and found that a third of his business came from repeat clients, another third from referrals, and the last third from all of his other marketing efforts combined (things like flyers, speaking engagements, magazines, advertising, sponsorship, radio and on and on). No surprises for guessing what he is doubling down on now.

We all need to look for opportunities to put that ‘y’ in front of ‘our’.
The people you are hoping will become your customers are tired of being asked to see you.
What they desperately want is for you to see them first.

Image by shirokazan.