Small Business Marketing Tips and Ideas

What Do You Do When Your Marketing Doesn't Work?

Whether you are new in business or have been at it for a while, it's almost assured you've experienced marketing failures. Most small businesses are in the business that they are in because that's what they're experts in. You're not necessarily an expert in marketing. But, if you're going to stay in business then you have to get some results from marketing.

Sure you've got ideas and because you love what you do, you're anxious to get the word out there about your business. You know if you can just get your message in front of enough prospective customers that you should be able to turn some of them into paying clients. So you deploy the marketing idea and then the unthinkable happens...

NOTHING!

You don't get a single response or inquiry. You're marketing has not worked - now what do you do?

Is this sounding familiar to anyone? Don't worry, you are not alone. So what do you do when your marketing doesn't work?

Take a step back and see what you can learn from the experience. I just got this BusinessInspired!com delivered in my email on Monday of this week - "There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure." - Colin Powell.

Hopefully you don't simply abandon the marketing approach and conclude that it simply doesn't work for your type of business. There are a number of things may have contributed to your lack of marketing success. It could actually be that a minor tweak here or there could be the difference between marketing success and marketing failure.

Consider taking a good hard look at these areas to see where improvement might be possible:

• Preparation - did you take the time to adequately plan and prepare for your marketing idea or did you throw it together without thinking it all the way through in order to get it out the door? This is actually a big reason why too many small businesses get less than satisfactory results. They just hop from one marketing idea to the next without planning and preparing.
  

• Target - was the marketing focused on the right target? What the target clear and did the marketing reflect who the intended audience was? Most marketing doesn't make it clear who the message is intended for.

• Message - was it the right message at the right time for the right audience? Did the message communicate a clear and compelling "What's in it for me?" to the target audience? Most marketing messages do nothing more than communicate this is the name of my company and the services I offer.

• Call to action - did the marketing have a clear call to action? Most marketing doesn't make it clear what the target audience should do next. And because there is no call to action, nobody even makes an inquiry.
  When your marketing doesn't work, challenge it and look for your areas of improvement. If you weren't a marketing expert yesterday, then having a great idea won't make you one tomorrow.
  

But, you can make yourself a better marketer. I'm a believer that if you plan and prepare, put your marketing out there, monitor your results, and continuously look for opportunities to improve it you will eventually find your winning marketing formula.

September 23, 2006 12:06 - Are You One of the Sole Proprietors Struggling to Generate New Business?

Wearing too many hats prevents solo business owners from expanding, according to a new study.

I just read a nice little article on Inc.com that describes the plight of so many small businesses. The article is entitled Sole Proprietors Struggle to Generate New Business. It states that more than a third of sole proprietors surveyed say their greatest challenge is finding the time and resources to generate new business.

The challenges discussed in this article define in large part why I decided to become a marketing coach back in 2003.

Here are a few of my thoughts on what I read. The text in quotes is from the article, and then my comments follow.

"...greatest challenge is finding the time and resources to generate new business..."

Let me just be real blunt about this. If you are a solo practitioner or a small business owner then you need to accept the fact that your part-time business is marketing. Without marketing you do not attract customers. And without customers you do not have a business.

As a small business owner or independent professional, you must commit to and schedule regular and consistent time for marketing. Marketing is all about generating a constant supply of high-quality leads that you can go to work on converting into clients. The ability to consistently generate leads is the lifeblood of your business. So I wonder why so many small business owners aren't willing to commit consistent time and effort to this most vital function.

"If they could afford thier first hire, 28% of respondents said they would delegate marketing tasks..."

Even if you're going to hire or outsource your marketing you still need to be involved in the process. As an independent professional or business owner, you set the tone. Pushing the marketing responsibility off to someone else won't be successful until you have set out a clear purpose and vision. You need to be intimately involved in defining the target niche, your strategic uniqueness, your value proposition, and your core marketing message.

I know it may sound self-serving, but that's what a marketing coach can do for you. One of my favorite quotes that I have posted right by my desk is, "In business for yourself, not by yourself." The greatest investment you can make in your business success is in yourself. You don't have to go it alone.