5 Truths about Small Business Marketing

Marketing is essential to make your small business a success: It helps you define your goals and tells the right people about you. But in order to make it work for you and your business, there are a few hard truths we all have to face…

1. Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day

I am not the most patient person – no actually, I could just hear my friends and family snort with laughter when I wrote this, so let’s rephrase that: I have no patience whatsoever. But one thing I have learned quite early on in my marketing career is that marketing takes time.

It’s a longterm game. It thrives on consistency. It’s all about the touchpoints. And that means that you have to be in it for the long haul if you want to reap the rewards. So the thing to learn and accept about your marketing is that there are no quick results.

For example, when I started sandstonecastles I had no relevant business contacts in Scotland. It took me almost a year until I had everything lined up and got my first paying client. And it took me another year of blogging, tweeting, holding workshops and giving talks before I had a reliable stream of inquiries and potential clients.

You can of course give your business a big push and create a buzz about your company in a short period of time. However, to build a sustainable business you have to keep going to show people you are here to stay.

2. You’ll Get What You Give

Another trap I have small business owners walk into is when they were spreading themselves too thin. They were thinking that a lot of marketing indeed helps a lot and were hoping of making success come sooner by doing more.

So far so good, this is certainly something that works if you have a team to fall back on and a lot of marketing budget to spend. But most small business owners have neither staff nor budget when they get started with their marketing.

Never forget: As business owners we always wear many hats and we have to pace ourselves to keep everything moving. So don’t do everything at once. Don’t get started on Twitter while also trying to figure out what the heck is the deal with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

Take it one step at a time and when you do something, do it properly. You will only get good results from your marketing if you give it your full attention. So don’t just hurriedly set up your Facebook advert campaign on Friday afternoon because you really just want to get out of the office and get your weekend started. Give it time and thought and the results will be all the better for it.

3. The Feel-Good Factor

“Marketing doesn’t work for me” or even better: “Marketing is just a waste of time and money”. I hear these comments quite often and most of the time, you can literally feel the frustration pouring out of them.

Feel free to replace ‘Marketing’ in those sentences with the marketing channel you hate most. Facebook perhaps? Or advertising? Do you get jittery when thinking about marketing in general? Yeah, you’re certainly not alone with this one.

Over the past years, I got quite a few surprised looks, usually after I told people that if they don’t like it, they don’t have to do it. And I mean it: If you hate social media or copywriting or cold calls, then DON’T DO IT.

The usual rule applies: If you do something you dislike, chances are you won’t get good results either. Just think back to your school grades and compare those of classes you enjoyed to the ones of classes you hated or found boring. The same goes for your marketing.

That doesn’t mean, you can stop doing marketing altogether (sorry!). But it does mean that you can choose the marketing activities and channels you enjoy most (or are least off-putting if you don’t like marketing at all) and put all your energy in it to make it work for your business. Play to your strengths!

4. A Pinch Of Salt

And that leads us to our next small business marketing truth: What works for others doesn’t necessarily work for you. The moment we go online, we are bombarded with suggestions and best practices for our marketing. You simply can’t avoid the voices that tell you to invest in [marketing channel of your choice] or risk getting lost in the myriad of businesses.

For one, you might not feel comfortable doing it and we know how that turns out. But it is also important to keep in mind that there is never only one solution for your marketing.

A lot of people run around and tell everyone about the surest and safest way to grow their businesses. But marketing is not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. YOU have to find the best marketing activities that help YOU achieve YOUR goals. Because your marketing is as individual as your business.

So don’t just copy and paste and follow the latest marketing fashion. Find out what what is the best way to represent your values and get in front of your ideal customer or client. Get inspiration from other businesses and have a look at success stories and best practice advice. But always take it with a pinch of salt.

5. You Can’t Please Everyone

One of my favourite lines about marketing is: “If you are talking to everyone, you are talking to nobody.” And I can’t emphasise enough how important this is. Never, ever underestimate the power of knowing your market and defining your niche.

In order for your small business (and marketing) to be successful, you have to provide a solution to somebody. You have to make somebody’s life that little bit easier or more fun. And I’m saying somebody, not everybody!

Focusing your marketing and your business on a specific audience is vital for your marketing communication to actually be heard through the noise. Knowing what your ideal client or customer needs and what your competition is offering them is what makes all the difference.

For example, imagine you are looking for a photographer to get new head shots done for your website. If you have the choice between a wedding photographer who also does business photo shoots and a photographer who specialises in people photography that is in line with a company’s branding, values and vibe – which one would you go for?

(And don’t tell me you’d be losing out on business if you restricted yourself like that, because we all know that you’d go for the wedding photographer if it’s the one who did such a stellar job at your friend’s wedding last year.)

FURTHER READING

If you are interested in reading more about this topic, have a look at these:
The Biggest Marketing Time Sinks & How to Avoid Them
Want to Stand Out with Your Small Business? Be Yourself!
How to Stand Out as a Small Business
How to Find Your USP [Infographic]

Denise Strohsahl is the owner and founder of Edinburgh-based marketing consultancy sandstonecastles. She specialises in helping small businesses make the best of their size and their marketing. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook or connect with her here on LinkedIn. You can find her own blog at www.sandstonecastles.co.uk/blog/.