A month ago, a client informed me that his organisation’s focus has now shifted from the bottom line to the top again.  He works for a US global giant, which is admittedly ahead of the curve when compared to most large UK businesses.

However, it made me realise that after such a long period of cost watching, it is important, when the time comes, not to get left behind in the race for growth. Certainly change is in the air.

Intermediaries still account for 50% of the mortgage business in the UK, and every lender will anticipate more volume next year. Indeed, Abbey have just released  intermediary-only products, which is another clue that things are changing.

However, small businesses rarely have the resources to accelerate growth through vast promotional campaigns.

But if you run a tight ship, are clear in your mind what you offer people, and can articulate why you can make a real difference to them, there are some lower cost activities that can help get you back quickly on clients’ mental map.

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As a starting point, you need to make sure that your client base is aware of everything you can do for them. In service industries, interacting with your clients is crucial. The more time you spend with them or in front of them, the more likely they are to keep you front of mind when a particular opportunity arises. As the embodiment of your brand, your personality, promises and performance are your proposition. They are what make you unique.

So there are two communications challenges: a direct or face-to-face interaction, and a remote or indirect one. There are some straightforward activities which you can undertake to show that you are addressing clients’ issues and concerns while repositioning or reinventing
your business in their minds.

Events, whether seminars or more social, offer an opportunity to say something about yourself and have the ear of your clients. You do not have to spend a fortune to make them work. They can be small and clever as well as expensive and corporate.

Either way, hosting an event is a great way of involving clients in your business. With the right twist you can reposition, reinvigorate and reinvent your business, turning the heads of potential new clients and reasserting your relevance to existing ustomers.

It can create an aura of excitement and goodwill and with a little fore-thought generate media coverage. Communications deliver your messages when you cannot be there to do it yourself.

But too often, good sales people are let down by unintelligible slides, misspelt proposals, cheap looking brochures or business cards with incorrect details, to name a few common sins.

Other absent influencers in the purchase decision subsequently judge the quality of the sale not on what has been said, but upon what they have in front of
them (these things are equally true in large corporations – believe me).

But interesting and informed quality information can quickly establish your broader appreciation of wealth management, knowledge and experience of other product solutions, and enable you to leverage your position as a trusted adviser. Whether online or offline, such an approach allows you a shop window to show the breadth of what you do and illustrate that you listen to the market.

The key is to do your housekeeping, and as a teacher of mine used to say, not to spoil the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar.

Of course, one cannot undertake all these things in one go, but the most important point of this article is that while many of us have battened down the hatches over the past year, it is time to start thinking ahead, before everyone else does.