In our line of work, we run across a lot of different companies, in many industry sectors. When we talk to the owners, we can often sense quickly whether or not their company is currently positioned to help itself succeed, either now or in the future. Certainly part of that is a marketing question, but a lot of it isn’t. For example, success might hinge on:

• • The audience need for that product or service (or the ability to generate that need)
  • The quality of the product or service
  • The charisma of the owner and his/her existing network reach

But building a healthy, sustainable business ultimately might depend most of all on this question: What are you willing to do to market your company successfully? If this sounds like an “effort” question, it is, at least partially, though not entirely. Let’s break down a bit more what we mean.

No. 1: Are You Willing to Risk Money to Make Money?

To use a Las Vegas analogy, you can’t win money unless you’re willing to risk losing it. Spending on marketing is a risk. Period. And just like in Vegas, you have to know the right time and place to make those “calculated’ investments that give you the best opportunity to make money both in the short-term and over the long-term. What exactly are those key investments? Here are a few examples:

• • An investment in staffing/agency/contractors: We’ve written in the past that a lot of marketing is really “just blocking and tackling.” In other words, business need to do core fundamental things to stay top of mind (e.g., develop content, send emails, run advertising, post on social media, etc.). Certainly a business owner can try to do that all himself or herself (see the next point) but it gets to be a lot, because there’s a lot to do. So, the question is, are you willing as an owner to invest in the resources needed (either and agency, contractor or staff) that can help you do what needs to be done? The other question is, of course, how much are you willing to pay for marketing done well? Yes, there are a ton of cheaper options. For example, you can easily find overseas contractors on Fiverr who are willing to do things at a quarter of the cost of an American resource for example. And some of them, indeed, may be reliable and solid for what you need. Other times, however, it’s going to pay off to choose a more qualified resource.
  • An investment in media (for advertising): There is little doubt that, if executed well, advertising can help nearly every business to grow and prosper. Some, of course, may not need to run paid promotions if they do a lot of other things well. Or, ads may simply not be the best fit for the stage the company is in. The risk here is that advertising often comes with a big price tag upfront and depending on the type of ads chosen, may not result in immediate term conversions. It’s also generally a two-fold expense: You have to spend on media (publisher’s site offering such advertising) as well as an agency or contractor to run your advertising program. For the latter, you can certainly try to do it yourself but given the sophistication of the tools and the complexity, it’s not something we’d recommend to the average small business.
  • An investment in assets. We often talk to clients about the importance of investing in original photos, videos or other design assets. Why? There are a few reasons: 1. It’s more visually authentic and makes audiences trust your business more, and; 2. What you’re doing when you take authentic photos or videos is leaning into your biggest differentiator: you.

No. 2: Are You Willing to Do at Least Some of It Yourself?

This is certainly the “effort” part of the question, and is especially relevant if you aren’t so willing to take a risk by spending money on your marketing (either staff/agencies, media, or assets). Most businesses understand this inherently, at least to some degree. What we often find, though, is a gap between what many businesses think they can achieve themselves and what they do achieve. For example:

• • Businesses that say they will create a certain amount of content but don’t actually get to it.
  • Businesses that try to take on advertising campaigns themselves but end up wasting a lot of money because they don’t understand the platform nuances.
  • Businesses that don’t have a clear strategy for their own marketing and end up creating brand confusion and inconsistency.

To be clear, we’re all for small companies especially taking on at least some of the marketing themselves. But as you can see, this also can be its own form of risk, especially if a particular strategy isn’t taken or something is not completed or executed well.    

No. 3: Are You Willing to Listen to Good Advice?

We get it. A lot of businesses started because of someone’s idea or drive or a particular inspiration. And to get those businesses to progress to any point in the process probably took a lot moxie and determination, as well as self-confidence in terms of any past decision-making.

But inevitably, many businesses can only get so far on that. At some point along the way, either staff, peers, or an agency might offer some advice. Maybe it’s a change of direction when you get stuck or a new approach or different tactics. Obviously, in this case, the advice has to make sense and the rationale has to be clear. If it is, though, do you listen to that advice and implement it?

We’ve certainly run across businesses that don’t really pivot well in that sense. They may hear the advice but don’t really embrace it. They continue to “do their own thing.” That’s fine, of course, but then resources they’ve hired to help them strategically end up often being a waste of money.

Conclusion

As always, we hope this has been helpful. If you need any assistance with marketing strategy or operations, don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation. Our mission is to help you excel in digital marketing.