Almost every small business owner is wasting their time and money on the wrong kind of marketing.
Here’s why you’re probably making the same mistake, plus an example of what happens, when you switch to the right kind of marketing.
The wrong kind of marketing
I’m referring to the obvious stuff that small business owners think of, when they consider marketing.
This includes the things they do when business is quiet and they have to do SOMETHING. The things that look easy enough for them to try. The things they copy from their competitors. The predictable, uninspiring messages they put on their websites, newsletters and social media accounts. In short: the obvious things that small business owners dabble with.
That’s not how you grow a business. No. That’s running blind, hoping you’ll get lucky. And it’s why the majority of small businesses go broke.
The right kind of marketing
I’m referring to creative marketing. You already know what creative marketing looks like. It’s what 100% of successful businesses do; from the expanding small businesses in your marketplace, to the consultants who work from home yet service international brands and earn a fortune. It’s also what the world’s fastest-growing brands do and how they stay ahead.
Creative marketing is not only spectacularly effective, it’s rare among small (and medium-sized) businesses. Really rare. This is one of the reasons it’s so powerful, compared to the dabbling bullshit I mentioned earlier.
Here are just a handful of reasons why creative marketing is so powerful.
- It’s hard to copy, which means it carries on working.
- It requires little or zero money, so your competitors can’t out-spend you (think about that for a moment).
- It stands out, so you get noticed.
- It helps you differentiate your business, products or services, so you never have to sell based on prices / fees or work with low value clients.
- It inspires your prospective clients to take action.
- It gets shared. This increases the reach of your marketing.
- It’s memorable. Because small business marketing is useless, creative marketing finds it easy to make a positive, memorable impact.
- It touches people in a way that never happens with uncreative marketing.
Still not convinced?
I’d like to tell you about Sara.
What creative marketing can do
Sara emailed me before the pandemic and invited me to lunch. She’s semi-retired now, but I mentored her a while ago and we’ve been great friends ever since. She now knows how to creatively build an extremely profitable business, in any sector or industry. She’d previously been a very good business consultant, but always struggled to get the flow of high quality clients she needed. Sara went on to build an amazing business and today invests in small and medium-sized businesses.
Why am I telling you this?
Over lunch, Sara told me that 2 and a half years ago she’d invested in a small, independent bakery. The bakery was already employing great people, already using premium quality ingredients and already making delicious food. BUT too few of the right kind of customers knew it was there, as they’d been using typical, small business marketing.
Sara spotted an opportunity and because she knew the owners, she offered them a price for their business. They eagerly accepted, especially as Sara promised she’d employ the same team to run it. (And they were going broke).
I asked Sara how the bakery was doing. She said she’s increased the turnover by almost 1100% and it’s massively more profitable, too.
One thousand, one hundred percent.
Massively higher profits.
Remember: She kept the same team, the same levels of quality, the same delicious food. Her only change was to switch from typical small business marketing, to creative marketing.
This probably goes without saying
But I’ll say it anyway.
If you’re currently dabbling with the usual type of ineffective, small business marketing, it’s time to switch.
Switch to a deliberate, creativity-driven approach. It’s what 100% of my work is based on, both with my clients and my own business.
Punch above your weight, by creatively gaining the attention, trust and patronage of your marketplace (ahead of your competitors). Look to the future with excitement, not apprehension, because your creativity-driven approach works perfectly in every economy, location and industry.
And it has never been more effective, than it is right now.