Most of my work comes either from repeat contracts or through responding to tender invitiations. I don't need to do a great deal of advertising as such, but I do need to keep my name and my businesses in the minds of clients and potential clients. I do that by keeping in touch with clients, even when not actually contracted to them - drop them an email, or pick up the phone just to say 'hello'. I have picked up a few short contracts following those contacts.

my line of business (social research and evaluation of public funded programmes) also means that i have to keep abreast of policy changes and statistics on e.g. unemployment, etc., particularly in the regions I work in (East and West Midlands). I can collate that information into da ocument fairly cheaply and send that round to potential clients for free, often just as a pdf. That seems to work as well.

to develop both business and marketing plans.

Why?

Because they act as references and reminders of what you are providing, the rationale for doing what you do, and who you hope to provide it for.

They are the drivers and the focus, and without them, it would be easy to get distracted.

Naturally, they will need to be refreshed as the business progresses, and also remain flexible.

In the appendix of my marketing plan, I have a list of contacts from my previous working times, and the list serves as a reminder of who I want to contact/have contacted, and the response/take up. This is also refreshed periodically as new contacts are made. A bit 'heath-robinson' but it works for mebut could easily be transferred into a small database.

In the plan is my target market, and target sector. Again, this helps me focus and identify potential clients to research within those parameters. It also helps me in researching competitors.

I've not had to do any marketing in the strictest sense however, but did find it useful to develop some marketing leaflet type documents (using Publisher) and also developed a web-site, to which I can refer clients.

I also ensure I have a good CV, as clients invariably ask for it. I have 2: a personal one, and a Supplier version.

Word of mouth is also very useful (as mentioned in the thread), so naturally it's important to do a good job on assignment. If you achieve this, then they will 'market' you to some extent.

However, I would imagine that failing to deliver could trash any marketing attempts which you might pursue, as I guess word would quickly get around.

I also ask for them to complete a Client Feedback Questionnaire which asks if they would recommend my services to others, if approached.

click here

However, there are loads of books on this topic. I liked this one (following recommendation) coz it's easy and simple to read - then, you can delve deeper into this mystic art!

CtA