Having spent some time helping small businesses across various industries, we’ve encountered a number of marketing lies that get told to companies, including “if you use our system, you’ll 10x your results” (or something ridiculous like that). We thought it would be a good time, hence, to “get real” about marketing so that you can set reasonable expectations for any promotional-related activity you embark upon (whether that’s yourself or through an agency like ours). Here are 5 truths about small business marketing.

Truth No. 1: You Ultimately Have to Make a Choice: Spend Money on Marketing or Work Really, Really Hard at It

When we strategize with entrepreneurs or those just starting out in a business, there’s often a big chicken-and-egg conundrum. As a new business, there’s no money coming in. So, without money coming in, some business owners are reluctant to spend any money on marketing. But if they don’t spend money on marketing, they will often limit their opportunity to grow.

That’s why we often say, there are only two choices a small business has when it comes to marketing: Either take the risk and invest in marketing your business – or do it yourself. There are no other options, broadly speaking.

Yes, many business owners do start out with their network. And if their network is strong enough and influential enough in terms of helping to provide ongoing clients/customers and word-of-mouth, that certainly can get companies off the ground. But after that, it’s hard to continue to rely on your network as a source of steady income. (After all, an entrepreneur’s network is, in most cases, limited).

So, what’s the right approach at that point? Unfortunately, there is no one way to do it. Spending money, for example on advertising, involves risk but can allow you greater reach with your marketing. Doing it all on your own can be rewarding and can save you money but it can be exhausting.

Many young companies will do a mix of the two approaches, and spend some money while doing a lot on their own. (Here’s a quick guide from us to help you decide what marketing to do on your own.) One question we often ask small business owners is: Can you create regular content to put in front of audiences? If you can, this is often the best way to market your company in a cost-effective manner. The problem: This will take a lot of time and effort. But the payoff for producing content will often be greater than you might realize upfront.    

Truth No. 2: There Is No One Marketing System That Works for All Businesses

If you think about it, every business is unique. So, how could one system work for every business? The truth is, that system doesn’t exist. So, our advice is don’t fall for anyone’s pitch that says: “If you follow our method, you’ll grow 10x” or whatever other broad promises a firm may make to you. (Unfortunately, our industry is littered with unscrupulous agencies and others who seek to take advantage of small businesses who want to believe that there’s an easy way to grow and make money.)

Let’s face it: Marketing is hard. Despite the age of AI we live in, it still requires a lot of manual effort and attention to detail, especially when it comes to the frequency and consistency of your marketing touch points. If the smallest details aren’t right, it can be a turn-off for your potential clients and customers.

Truth No. 3: The Way You Project Your Brand Matters

Many small businesses we know don’t really consider their brand. What we mean by that is they don’t pay attention to what they’re really communicating to customers with every marketing touch. Is it consistent? Are those touches consistently supporting the same narrative every time a potential customer sees their brand – this could be through advertising, social media, email, on the website, and in content. Why is this important? Because brand ultimately drives almost everything in marketing, including revenue and sales. If you’re a company that’s known for X, you become synonymous with X. If you’re known for X, Y, Z, AA, BB, etc., you may not be specialized enough to solve the problem that your clients/customers are looking for.

The other problem: Does the customer see the brand differently than what the small business owner thinks he or she is projecting through marketing? Here’s a question you can ask current clients/customers: “When you think of our company, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?” If it’s different than what you think you’re currently projecting (or want to project) in the marketplace, then it’s probably time to tighten your messaging across the board and start thinking about how you can project the same narrative throughout all your marketing.

Truth No. 4: The More Aggressive You Are, The Better You Will Tend to Do

We’ve often said it: “Err on the side of being aggressive in marketing.” Why? Because if you think of the average sale, research has suggested it takes anywhere from 10 to 14 marketing touchpoints before someone says yes to your product or service. That’s quite a bit. (And the number is often higher than that for many industries). The more you can put yourself in front of them (especially throughout the buyer journey), the better chance you have of staying top of mind at the key moments in that process. That doesn’t mean you flood them with your messaging at all hours of the day and night – marketing fatigue is real after all – but it does mean you should probably up the frequency from what you’re likely doing today.

Truth No. 5: Have a Plan (Or at Least a Playbook to Work From)

In the past, we’ve talked about the Nike approach that many small businesses take to marketing – the idea that they will “just do it.” That’s neither a wise approach nor practical because a lot of companies will end up wasting a lot of time and resources marketing the company without any consistency or strategic approach. A plan changes that because it allows you to:

• • Focus efforts on the right target audiences
  • Focus efforts on channels you think will be most effective to reach those target audiences
  • Consider the frequency and consistency of your messaging across channels
  • Help you understand how the different channels can potentially work together (rather than in isolation)
  • Help you define your overall marketing budget, as well as what you’re willing to do versus what you might hire out to do
  • Allows you to set metrics for success and optimize to try to meet those key performance indicators (KPIs)

If you need help, contact us at Marketing Nice Guys. We can help you develop a marketing plan/playbook that’s customized for your resources and needs.