This quick
marketing tip is all about how to improve your marketing results in the medium and long term. In fact, it will give you one of the marketing foundations behind the most successful businesses in the world.
Marketing & small businesses: Never enough time!
I often hear the owners of small businesses, saying that they don’t have the time to market their services as an ongoing activity. They tell me that it’s only when they lose a major account, that they have the time available, to dedicate to marketing.
The primary problem with this approach to marketing is that it simply does not work. It causes a business to reach a plateau or spin its wheels. This happens because periods of growth mainly come, AFTER there has been a loss of business / revenue / profits. The loss of business having prompted the marketing.
When I hear the time argument, I explain that when marketing is conducted on an ongoing basis, it actually takes very little time each month. Unlike panic-based marketing, when there’s been a big, sudden drop in business, working to a marketing strategy takes surprisingly little time.
In contrast, successful businesses of all sizes, work on their marketing all the time. It’s just a normal, ongoing business activity. The difference between the two approaches to marketing is that one type of business uses tactical marketing, whilst the other uses strategic marketing.
I wrote a post about this, which explains the difference between tactical and strategic marketing and also explains compound marketing / leverage. Be sure to check it out!
Tailor your marketing strategy to your resources
When I work with my clients, I always start off by ensuring that their marketing strategy is tailored, to match their resources. It has to be manageable and easy to do. It also needs to not get in the way of their core business.
Your marketing strategy needs to be similarly developed around your unique situation. When it is, marketing becomes manageable and easy to implement into your working week. This is the secret to developing a predictable, confidence inspiring flow of sales / new business.
What have your experiences been? Please let us know with a comment.
Photo: Laffy4k
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This is what I am changing now, Jim, but I used every excuse in the book to explain why I didn’t have time before. Now, I am trying to strategically work on ways to communicate with prospective clients, stay in contact with existing ones, and provide the best possible products and services to the ones I am working with currently.
Julie Walraven | Resume Services´s last blog ..How do you start your day?
In my experience Julie, most small businesses start off that way. Sadly, many stay that way until the eventually go broke.
One of many reasons why so many businesses fail in the first few years.
Couldn’t agree more Jim.
Sometimes it is about being disciplinesd; trying new initiatives and giving them time.
I wrote something similar this morning on my Blog:
http://bathmarketingconsultancy.blogspot.com/2010/02/patient-marketing.html
I’ve gone back to having 1 day a week for running my business. That includes admin and marketing. In addition, I allocate 15 mins 3 x a day for up to the minute marketing, ie twitter, an interview, etc. Great blog and great advice as always. Thanks Jim.
Hi Judith. Good to hear you are allocating time for your marketing.
Thanks for the comment!