Attracting New Attention To Old Clients

By Michelle Lew

Sure, maybe you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but what if you taught a new dog old tricks?

Getting attention for old clients might seem like a difficult task, but with some out-of-the-box thinking and these tips you should be set to go.

Find new media outlets

Blogs and online media are showing up everywhere. Depending on how long they’ve been around, it’s a good chance they have not written a piece about your client.

These new dogs are not familiar with the tricks you already have. This way you can to pitch any services that your client has because they’ve never heard of them.

Also, look for publications that you have not outreached to before. Although print is allegedly a dying media, it is still worth sending a pitch over to see what happens.

In addition, don’t ignore the places you’ve been. They might have changed editors and that means your old client might be new to them.

Develop a new strategy

Think of this as a small re-brand, a mini make-over for your client.

With trends changing so rapidly, your client should be tweaking their services or their message to accommodate the changing times.

Frequently brainstorm with your team how you can help your clients out, even the smallest things help or start the wheel turning in a co-worker.

Think about current events, trends, new services offered and pitch your idea to media to get coverage.

Also, introducing old clients to new media is never a bad idea. Twitter and Facebook are always options to raise awareness and can be used to your advantage when needed.

Remind them & create nostalgia
 
For the older contacts, simply reminding them of your client might help. Humans were programmed very strangely and sometimes creating nostalgia about a client can help.

Maybe your target audience has some emotional ties to your client and a little tug on a heartstring is what is needed for them to write a story. Or perhaps they have previously written something for your client and you could use this to your advantage and pitch a follow up story.

A professor once told me, “Keep it simple, sometimes less is better.”

If it seems like there’s nothing you can do to help out an old client, start fresh and think back to the basics. If that doesn’t work, there are always interns around with new and improved ideas you can ask for help!