The top 5 issues with small business marketing

Most small business marketing is boring.

It's bland, lacking imagination and repetitive.

Worse still, it's just like every other business' marketing in that sector.

It's the #1 marketing issue.

It doesn't just apply to written content. Think about the last time you went networking and the 60-second pitches of the businesses in the room. Enough said?

Some businesses recognise this and get creative.

But don't be creative for the sake of it. You have to be creative with a purpose.

Otherwise, it's like throwing paint at a wall and hoping it looks "creative"

Your marketing still needs to deliver a message.

That message needs to be:

• Informative
• Useful
• Relevant
• Interesting
• Easy to understand
• Easy to consume

…and focused on your target market.

The creativity comes in how you entice your target market to consume that message.

?An enticing headline

?An eye-catching image

?A layout that draws the reader in

But the content must deliver on the promise. Nobody likes to feel tricked.

Not being targeted and relevant is the #2 marketing issue

On the layout point, you need to think about

• White space,
• Making it easy to read. and
• The secondary reading path.

All things being covered in our Great Content mini-course coming shortly. Click the name to join the waitlist.

So that's the "creative" part of the equation.

But you're not marketing for the sake of it. You're marketing to meet an objective.

That typically means getting a return.

The Numbers

A return on your marketing doesn't have to mean revenue or profit.

The return depends on the objective for that piece of marketing.

If the objective is brand awareness, the number measured could be:

• New followers
• New connections
• Likes and/or comments
• New subscribers
• Links clicked

It can be whatever measure you put in place.

The important thing is that you have an objective and you are measuring if it is met.

Not having a target is the #3 marketing issue.

Not measuring against that target is the #4 marketing issue.

The BIG ONE - Marketing issue #5

Most businesses market with the often subconscious objective of getting leads as cheaply as possible.

Let's go back to networking as an example. You have a nice breakfast. You meet your business buddies. You get some referrals. Business ticks along. Great if that's what you want from your business. But it won't help you retire 10 years early. It won't take your business to a ï¿¡1m turnover.

If you want more from your business you will need a paid ads strategy.

Most businesses' paid ad strategies don't deliver the desired results because they look to pay too little for the leads.

The question asked is usually:

How little can I spend to get a lead?

The question should:

How much can I afford to spend to get a lead?

The latter approach gets better quality leads.

The latter approach beats the former approach even if the product or service is inferior.

Why? Because more of the right people see the ads.

So you need to know your numbers.

• What is a new customer worth to the business - immediately, in the first year, in the lifetime of being a customer?
• How many contacts generate a lead?
• How many leads generate a conversation?
• How many conversations generate a client?

Only with those numbers can you decide how much you are prepared spend to get a customer.

How much are you prepared to spend to get a customer?