marketing 101

Today I'm working on marketing to prospective clients. I have a list of 7000+ businesses. The company that provided the list was kind enough to break out what they think are the top 200. Now I'm trying to narrow down my top 100 and then top 50.

So the first stop is Ye' Old Internet, where Google is your friend. I actually started Googling these companies last week.

If you're going into business, or maybe you're already in business, I have some advice:

Before you name your company, no matter how clever or catchy or original you think your name is, Google it. If you got an entire first page with other companies bearing that same name, think of something else. Be original. Stand out. Let people actually be able to find you.

Then, get a web presence. I don't care who you cater to, what you sell, whatever, you need a web site. People want to research you on the web. They don't want to have to talk to other people or look you up in journals or magazines or books. If they can't find you online, they probably won't try too hard to find you.

So my top 100 and top 50 potential clients aren't the top 100 from my list - they are the top 100 from my list with web sites I could find. And they are getting cool little gifts that probably have no bearing on whether or not they actually do business with me.