You probably think I am going to say a good accountant is the most important thing your business needs. Although a good accountant is essential, it is not the number one priority. The most important thing your business needs is sales! Call it sales, revenues, fees, customers, or clients, but it is all the same. Without sales you do not have a business, therefore nothing else matters.
Aside from providing excellent products and services, the way to increase sales is to increase your marketing efforts. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it should be effective. Your marketing efforts should be planned and focused.
As part of your marketing, you need to focus on who you want to target and how. For example, a veterinarian should only target pet owners. Lists can be obtained from database companies, such as infousa that are very specific for both direct mail and email marketing.
The next step is how to contact your target market. Maybe the veterinarian can send a postcard to the pet owners. Maybe he/she can even get more creative and partner with a local, independent pet shop or dog trainer to cross market his/her services. Additionally, a good internet and social media strategy can help you to target your market as well, and make sure to outsource or delegate this function.
Just remember that a good marketing strategy is to diversify your marketing methods. I recommend marketing in at least 3-5 different ways because not all usually work at the same time.