Talk about business, talk about sales (it doesn’t matter what) and it’s guaranteed that marketing will quickly follow suit. But often it’s also quickly zipped past, put on the important list as everyone knows it’s important, but then not quite revisited, not quite mapped in/delved into/planned and then a few months later just comes up again and the cycle continues.
Or maybe things aren’t going great in your business, maybe sales are down, or you’re not reaching the right customers. Maybe your cash flow is getting scary, or you’re not sure if you’ve got things quite right? Then someone suggests – “we need marketing” – that will help, will get us back on track. Do some facebook or twitter posts, place some ads. You find a bit of money to do some marketing.
I’ve been in marketing in various guises for 25+ years and it amazes me how marketing is so often an afterthought, the last things on the list, the thing you do to get yourself out of a ‘business hole’ instead of the thing that provides a framework to prevent you from falling in it in the first place.
Marketing done well, can be the thing that gives you consistency, your voice to your customers, the vehicle that gets your messages to the right audience, at the right time and the most effective way.
Fear of the unknown maybe? Marketing can feel like a big unwieldy thing that costs money. It can often feel complicated, when it needn’t be, and expensive when that doesn’t have to be the case.
I’ll annoy some of my professional peers now by suggesting that part of the scariness of marketing is perpetuated by the industry itself, or at least by some within it. You don’t need a whole new vocabulary to ‘speak marketing’ although around the tables in some offices they’d have you believe that. A budget (of some kind) does help there is no hiding from that one, but you don’t need a full time designer and a professional colour specialist to create a brand. And you don’t need a six figure budget to have an impact with your audience.
There are some really straightforward things that can make a difference. The main goal is to communicate with the right people about things that matter to them in a language they understand. There are many things that can be done to help make this happen – and you don’t have to be a professional marketeer to start taking some important steps.
1: Take notice of who your customers are why they chose to come to you
2: Ask your customers what attracted them to you – why did they choose you?
3: Explore how your customers reach you – find out how they found you!
Collectively this simple set of information is the baseline for you to start understanding your customers more, and identifying how best to attract and engage with them. It’s one of the seeds needed to start drafting your marketing plans, but it’s a really important start.
There’s absolutely a place for working with and engaging professional marketeers (we!) provide a really valuable skills set to help you take your business where you want it to be, but the point I’m making is that marketing isn’t something for small businesses to be scared of. Think and speak about marketing activity in ways and with words that make sense to you and your business. There is no ‘right’ way to do marketing, only the right way that works and has impact for your business.
But, the first step is to be proactive, plan it, ask for help if needed, and then do it – small steps make a difference! Don’t wait until you need to get you out of a business hole.