Even with many years of experience working with dozens of talented and skilled marketing professionals, with agencies and within large corporations…I can unapologetically say that marketing is hard.
It’s arguably one of the most difficult aspects of running or owning a business, especially a small one where resources are lacking and budgets are tight.
Knowing what marketing tactics to do and how frequently to do them…Understanding what results to measure and how to measure them…Determining if your messaging is right and how to reach your target market with it…And the list goes on…
There are many elements to marketing, and they are constantly evolving. And small businesses must evolve with them — adopting ever-changing best practices — or get left behind.
Shifts in the way society communicates, generational trends and values, new technology and more all affect the way in which we both reach and speak to our target audiences.
So how can you make marketing a little easier on your small business, and on your overall sanity?
Develop a marketing strategy for your business.
Why?
Because your marketing strategy IS the WHY behind all of your marketing efforts, and it essentially acts as the compass for your marketing initiatives — continually pointing you in the right direction and guiding you if you get off course.
A marketing strategy conveys how your marketing goals will help you achieve your business goals. It clearly outlines what you offer, who you offer it to, how you deliver it and who your competitors are so that you can differentiate yourself and stay competitive.
The strategy helps you make the most out of your marketing investments, keeps your marketing focused and lets you know what results to measure.
What’s even more?
Without a marketing strategy, you are just jumping from one marketing activity to the next (a.k.a. Random Acts of Marketing), not knowing what’s working and what’s not…
Posting to social media but not really knowing what topics to talk about, how frequently to post and when to post…
Building out ClickFunnels and email automation with no real intention because that’s what everyone else is doing…
Running paid ads that are depleting your marketing budget and not producing results (you don’t think) because you’re not sure what to measure or what the metrics even mean…
I can keep going, but if you are a small business owner, it’s likely you get the point.
Your “shiny [marketing] object syndrome” will leave you feeling defeated, hating marketing and wasting money, time and valuable resources.
On the flip side, if you have a clearly developed marketing strategy in place, then you will have an informed marketing plan. One that lets you (and any marketing pros you work with) know exactly what you want to accomplish with your marketing, how you’re going to go about doing it and what you are going to measure in order to know what’s working and what’s not, so you don’t waste anymore money, time or resources.
If you’re tired of spinning your wheels, wasting valuable time, money and resources, then it’s time to develop a solid marketing strategy for your small business. If you prefer the DIY method, then visit The Small Business Owner’s Guide to Marketing Strategy.
If you want a done-for-you approach, then schedule a call with me and we’ll get your marketing priorities straight ASAP.