The dirt — four questions that target your marketing

So, if the vacuum isn’t the problem, illiteracy is no longer the issue, and the means of production are so readily available, why is marketing a small business such a challenge … and such a chore? Stating the answer, i.e, “cutting through an insane amount of clutter to stay top-of-mind for your ideal client base,” is hardly going to make headlines ’round the world. But how does the small-business owner overcome this challenge without spending all of their profits — and then some — on marketing? The savvy business owner goes about their marketing with the following questions in mind:

1.) “How long have I got?” You are going to be in business for a long time. Your branding will change, your philosophy will change, potentially even your core-offering will change (mine certainly has) Your client-base will evolve, your tagline will mutate, and you will one day look back at that first invoicing system with complete and utter disdain. The good news is, you don’t have to do everything perfectly right off the bat. All marketing is a work in progress, and as long as a piece of marcom isn’t truly dreadful — doesn’t violate your established brand identity, doesn’t speak to a target-market in which you have no interest, doesn’t have your competitor’s phone number — it is better to have something done than something perfect. If you’re just starting in business, you don’t need to drop a bundle on a custom-logo, a visual identity kit, or mind-blowing website. Take one step at a time, and then refine your steps. If I seem overly-emphatic on this point, it’s because I’ve seen so many small-business owners delay finalization or distribution of a particular project until that project is no longer germane because they wanted to create perfection. Your speed and your flexibility are your greatest marketing attributes … use them wisely.

2.) “What do I want here?” Establishing goals for each marketing piece is a crucial, oft-overlooked step. Are you distributing a doorhanger because you want “more calls”? How many more? From people who want what service or product? From what segment of your client base? Will more calls equal success for this marcom piece? Or do you need more closed deals? How many more? How soon? Netting how much money? What’s your strategy for dealing with people who do call as a result of the piece? If you have no metrics for success, there’s no way to know if something is a hot-ticket, repeat item … or a cold piece of turkey the day after Thanksgiving.

3.) “Where are my fishies?” This may sound like a foolish question, but are you marketing where your clients are? Or where you wish they were? Case-in-point, I had a client who was selling a gorgeous, high-end high-value product to baby boomers, and doing virtually 100% of her marketing online. Because her budget was fairly limited, her online clients would’ve had to do some digging to find her in the clutter. Of course, the data shows that boomers, on average, do less surfing than youngsters. Don’t spend time casting your net where your fishies aren’t.

4.) “Who am I, really?” Are you marketing with authenticity? If you’re a small-business owner or solo-preneur, you’d better be. Your clients are paying a premium for something that authentic and real — they’re paying for you — so it behooves you to bring the best of what’s real about you to the table. Not convinced? Take a look at this post by Seth Godin, which says much the same only with a fancy chart.