The real reason you “suck at” marketing

There’s no worse feeling than “marketing” just so you can cross it off your list. You’re literally throwing stuff at the wall hoping something will stick, it doesn’t feel good, and you have no idea if it’s working.

It doesn’t have to be like this!

There are two main reasons our clients come to us feeling bad about marketing their businesses:

1. They’re not being true to themselves or their business values
2. Their marketing activities are not strategically tied to their business goals

Let’s break it down.

When you’re posting three times a week because you saw somewhere one time that’s what you should do, immediately it becomes a slog.

It’s easy to get into the habit of posting about your products or services – you want your marketing efforts to result in sales, after all. But think about why people turn to their phones and open their social media apps:

• To be entertained
• To make connections with others
• To learn something

We’re not looking for ads or billboards when we open Instagram.

This is where more of you, your authentic self, your values can have room to shine. And when you’re sharing from the heart of why you do what you do, it feels less like plugging your product and more like a conversation with friends.

Once you shift your mindset from selling to befriending your community some of the “ick factor” you might have been feeling goes away.

Then, having a business goal in mind helps make the selling more meaningful:

• Let’s say you run a cafe. In a typical week you post your specials, your hours and a dish or two. You share a little behind the scenes when your staff have a mini dance party while closing.
• But your goal for this year is to double the number of caterings you book.
• You don’t want your regular cafe customers to think you only offer catering now, but you do want people to know you’re ready to cater their events!

New goal: mention catering – along with your regular business offerings, and those funny, remarkable parts of your business and you as humans that people connect with – at least once a week for the next 2-3 months.

Then assess how it’s going: are you getting more catering orders? Do people seem to be more aware of your catering offer? Are people interacting (commenting, sending, saving, etc.) your posts about catering?

We promise you don’t suck at marketing. Sometimes it’s just a little shift in what you’re putting into it!