I previously mentioned a great book on small business marketing called Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch. In it, he introduces a great concept called the marketing hourglass. In marketing, we often hear about the marketing funnel. where businesses “attempt to generate leads on a broad scale and then funnel them toward becoming a client with increased contact and content”. Though useful, it leaves out a critical part, namely, what to do with clients once they have made a purchase.
What many new businesses don’t realize is that the majority of their growth will most likely come from: (1) selling premium products and services to existing clients and (2) the referrals generated by theses same clients. 
I was talking to my programmer recently and asked him about how he markets his business and generates leads. He told me he doesn’t do any marketing. All his business comes from word of mouth or referrals. I asked another friend of mine who operates a successful translation company with several employees. He told me the exact same thing. In both instances, I was expecting to hear about marketing strategies related to advertising, cold calling, B2B marketing, or today’s catch word, social networking. Read more »
