When it comes to small business marketing, I tend to preach the less-is-more mantra: Do a few things exceptionally well. Knock your clients’ socks off in the areas where you are already strong rather than attempting to overcompensate for weaknesses. Advertise in a few highly impactful (even if higher dollar) mediums and locations rather than a larger number of more economical mediums and locations. Gift your clients in an unexpected and beautiful way once a year rather than cheaply four times a year.
But, where I draw the line with the less-is-more philosophy is when it comes to strategy and implementation. You will never hear me say you should delegate marketing to the person already on your staff who just happens to have the capacity to take on more work. Less is more but only to a point.
WHEN YOU DON’T GET IT
As we’ve discussed in the past, marketing is nebulous. If you aren’t entrenched in the marketing world, it’s very likely you don’t get it — and that’s ok. You get what you do, be that insurance, business consulting, dentistry, financial services, accounting or medicine.
But, because you don’t get marketing, you can’t quite work out what it can do for you and why you should invest in not only an expertly crafted longterm strategy but ongoing professional implementation either internally, with a staff member, or externally with an agency or consultant. After all, to the untrained eye, success in marketing can present as a seemingly random amalgamation of luck and that “next big thing” social network, so can’t your employee who has a few extra hours on his hands just post some updates on your Facebook business page, place a few ads and cross his fingers as well as the next guy?
No. Because things aren’t as random as they may seem; and those successes? Well, they’ve been in the works for a while.
The absolute worst thing you can do is bury your head in the sand and hope that maybe, just maybe, someone on your staff can nail one postcard, one ad, one message or one social media post that will be the magic bullet. Why? Because there’s no such thing, and even if there were, it’s highly unlikely that your receptionist, project manager or COO knows what that is or how it fits into the bigger picture of your longterm strategy.
INVESTMENT IN THE END GAME
It makes sense to be apprehensive about investing in something you just can’t quite put your finger on, so in the spirit of easing your mind, let’s focus on the “how” for a moment. The main reason that you don’t get marketing is because when done well, marketing strategy looks different for every single business. There should never be a one-size-fits-all strategy. There’s no magic formula of advertising mediums and locations, social media posting schedules, client gifting strategy and referral generation methods. Every business, every client base, and every entrepreneur is different and thus, every good marketing strategy is as well.
To make this more palatable, let’s reframe marketing as less the act and more the result. When you go to the doctor, you’re investing in an exam, diagnosis and healing. When you go to the golf course, you’re investing in a round of golf. These are tangible and predictable.
With marketing, imagine investing in the confidence of knowing that your message, strategy, and brand are exceptional and impactful. Imagine investing in the freedom from the nagging feeling that your marketing could be better or that you might be missing out on opportunities. Imagine you’re investing in peace of mind, business growth and confidence. The strategy, or the how, is secondary; the end game is what you’re investing in.
TAKE ACTION
What opportunities, growth and dream clients are you forfeiting by refusing to invest in your marketing? Give yourself permission to invest in professional marketing strategy and guidance, whether internally by hiring a professional to be on staff or externally with a consultant or agency. Investigate what other successful marketing strategies look like in your industry. Talk with other professionals you respect and find out who they work with, how they work, and what’s working for them in terms of internal or external help. Think about what you’d like to see or experience with your marketing professional, and start some conversations. It’s worth it.
Stephanie Gordon is the founder and CEO of Psych’d Marketing, a boutique marketing firm based in Gainesville, Florida. She holds degrees in both psychology and business from the University of Florida. Psych’d offers full service, concierge marketing solutions for small to medium sized businesses. Stephanie prides herself on connecting phenomenal businesses with the people who need them.