Do you own a computer business that caters to the needs of local small businesses?
 
A rookie mistake many computer business owners make when starting out in the IT industry is believing that all small businesses are created equal.  They think they can just create some well-designed marketing materials that will appeal to all small business owners in their area and get a nice response that will bring them instant clients. If only it were that easy!

The trouble is, most small business owners don’t identify themselves as small business owners.  When introducing themselves in networking situations or in advertisements, the typical small business owner won’t say, “Hi, I’m John Doe, and I run a small business.”  Instead, they identify themselves by their occupation or industry.  They introduce themselves as public accountants, attorneys, florists, locksmiths, health club owners, doctors, dentists, and electricians for example.

There are literally hundreds of different types of small businesses.  And if you want to get great clients for your computer business, you need to target those that will be most likely to need your comprehensive IT solutions. Consider the following 4 ways to create a focused marketing campaign that can get you the very best clients.

1. Know the Differences Between Different Types of Small Businesses and the Profit They Can Bring to Your Computer Business.  Because different types of small business clients can bring you different results in terms of service revenue, think about focusing your marketing efforts on only the most profitable potential clients.  On a basic level, the ideal client for your business will be first of all, big enough to have a need and budget for outsourced IT services on a regular basis… but at the same time, not so big that the company already has a large in-house IT department.
   
   
2. Know What Sweet Spot Clients(TM) Mean to Your Business.  The “not too small” but “not too big” concept is what defines Sweet Spot ClientsTM.  It’s where you will find companies with anywhere from 10-100 employees, with 10-50 PC’s and annual revenues between $1 million – $20 million (USD).  This is where many computer business owners find their best opportunities for significant growth.
   
   
3. Very Small Businesses Are Not Ideal Clients.  When you work with small businesses that have just a handful of PC’s, they are often too small to afford many of your recommendations.  While this type of business is still technically defined as a small business, you will find that marketing to or servicing a very small company will usually not be profitable.  These types of businesses will not be able to afford on-going support and will ultimately not be able to grow past being an occasional customer.  The turning point for a small business is when it needs services on a monthly, semi-monthly, or even weekly basis… and it must invest in at least one real, dedicated server.

4. Very Large Small Businesses Do Not Make the Best Computer Business Clients Either.  When you have large small businesses with 50+ systems as your clients and they start seeing you on a weekly or even daily basis, they often will have a light-bulb moment:  “We could really save money and get faster service if we hired a full-time IT manager.”  While there still might be a place for your computer business in this type of environment as a specialist, this size of small business will end up delegating most work to a full-time IT manager on their payroll.  

When it comes to the profitability of specific small business clients, remember that not all small businesses are created equal.  You need to target the right type of clients to make sure you can build long-term relationships and enjoy on-going service revenue.

In this article, we talked about 4 ways to target the right computer business clients. Learn more about how you can attract great, steady, high-paying computer business clients now at the attached link.
 
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