Monthly Archives: July 2015

Never been a better time to market a small business…

So, I constantly hear small business owners say that they don’t market their business.  Well, they don’t SAY it out loud, but that is what I hear.  What I hear is that they don’t advertise their small business.  That they rely on word of mouth advertising…because it is the BEST form of advertising.  Most of these people (and there are the occasional exception), don’t stay busy, or do not have businesses that are growing.  I heard an analogy once that compared a business to a plant.  A plant is either growing or it’s dying; and that is the same with your small business.

Why do I say that there has never been a better time to market a small business?  Well, because that is what my friend Timbo Reid from the Small Business Big Marketing podcast says all the time…and to be honest, I believe him.  Gone are the days when in order to compete with the BIG boys, you would have to buy big full page spreads in a magazine, a large radio campaign, or heaven forbid a TV ad.  Yes these are all forms of advertising, but this is NOT what you need to do to MARKET your business.

There are a lot of definitions floating out there about marketing.  I even have a marketing degree, but I think far too few small business owners understand what marketing is really about.  It is a topic we could talk about for…well, forever actually.  There are blogs and podcasts, books, and courses and so many other places to educate on the subject.  But let’s keep it simple, because that is how I think.

I believe marketing is everything that communicates your value proposition.  Everything that reminds your customer what you are really all about.  Why they should spend their hard earned money with you.  So, that brings up another question (I hate it when people answer one question with another question).  Your Value Proposition is the added value a customer gets over and above the actual thing they are buying.  So lets look at Starbucks.  When you go to Starbucks for a coffee, you are not just buying a coffee.  If you think about it, coffee is just filtered water.  We have turned coffee into so much more though. Now it includes milk, sugar, flavors, etc.  But when you buy your Veni soy not whip vanilla late, you are getting the ambiance in the store, the friendly staff, the music in the store, the Starbucks coffee cup, and the feeling you get driving home.  If you don’t believe me, are you willing to pay $4.78 for a coffee at the corner gas station?  I don’t think so.  These things are their value proposition.  They make Starbucks stand out.

So, what is your value proposition?  If you are a graphic designer, what do you do for your clients that make their purchase more than just a transaction?  More than a nice logo.  You have to give them an experience.  We love to get emotionally attached to things and people we do business with.

When I was a kid in college, I started painting houses.  My dad used to tell me: “Nick, remember, you are going to school so you don’t have to paint houses the rest of your life.”  Ha!  Still painting houses.  Well, kind of, but that is a story for a different day.  When I first started painting houses, I bought my paint at the local Benjamin Moore dealer.  They were great.  They could always answer my questions.  And I had a lot of questions.  But what I remember what really got me coming back…cookies!!  They had a tin of crapy assorted cookies sitting on the counter.  When I would be waiting for my paint, I would eat cookies.  So stupid, right?  Not stupid.  It was a very small thing that got me, their customer, to come back again, and again.  Do you have something small and stupid that you could give to your customers to encourage them to come back?  I bet you do.

So what is marketing?  COOKIES!  Who doesn’t like cookies.  So simple.

If you want to learn how business owners have successfully grown their business, listen to our podcast.  We have old shows still on iTunes, and we will be launching our new show October 1st!  Stay tuned.  It’s time to grow YOUR business.

Have you ever found yourself asking “What am I doing?” It’s a great question.  A lot of times as a small business owner, we keep doing a list of things, and we keep trying to stay busy for busy sake.  Does it ever feel like you’re banging your head against the wall and getting nowhere fast?  I know, I have days like that and we all will; but how do you avoid it on a regular basis?

I met with a guy last week that looks like this on a daily.  He is staying busy and working seven days a week.  He’s working to please customers with no clear understanding or process, and making hardly any money.  Many of us have all been here.  The problem is, if you don’t open your eyes, and see the futility of it, you will continue to do the same things, and continue to get the same results.

How do you break out of it?  If you are in this place right now, I want to give you a few things that will hopefully get you out of the rut, and back on track.

First, you need to know where you are going at all times.  You need to set a ONE year plan, and commit to it for the entire year. Small business owners need to have a bigger vision for what they are doing and where they are going, but spending too much time on a fancy business plan can be a HUGE waste of time.  I don’t know about you, but my strategic plan has a tendency to shift from year to year, especially in the first 5 years.  You must have a clear idea about where you want to go over the next 12 months, how you get there will certainly change along the way.

Second, your plan must be based and grounded in reality.  Do you really think you can grow at a 300% rate, month over month for six months?  If you have only been adding one new customer a week for the last 2 months, what makes you think that all of a sudden you will be able to add 5 per week?  Be realistic.  Don’t set yourself up for failure which leads to frustration and burn out.  Look at past history; figure out how you achieved those numbers.  Do less of what did not work.  Do more of what produced good results.  Follow the 80/20 rule.  

Third, meet with a group of like minded business owners that can give you feedback and accountability.  The best thing about being a business owner is that we don’t have a boss.  The worst thing about being a small business owner is that no one is telling us what we need to do.  It’s a double edge sword.  If you meet with a peer group you will be able to stay on track and get good feedback on the steps you are planning on taking.  If you are interested in creating your own group, see the chapter called Building a Board of Advisors.

Fourth (and this is very important), you must be receptive to the advice of others.  Most successful people realize their limitations and that they may not have all the answers.  We all have room for improvement.  I have a friend that is more organized than just about anyone.  He has a place for everything, and nothing is EVER out of place.  The great thing is that he always tells me, “I have to get more organized I can do better.”  If we all had this understanding, and acted on it, we would all continually improve and make our business better.

My friend and I were talking the other day, he’s going on a cruise in 3 weeks, at the time we spoke, I was leaving for a vacation the next day.  He had already packed for his vacation, and I had not packed.  He is far more intentional about the things he does, and it doesn’t matter if we are talking about business or personal.  I need to be more like him and be more organized.

If you become involved with a peer group: be open.  Listen to the advice of others and don’t think you know it all.  You may just need the perspective of an impartial person to help you see the pitfall you are about to drop into, or the gold rush that awaits you right around the corner.

So what ARE you doing?  Are you being strategic?  Are you setting goals?  Are you moving your business forward?  Take steps right now to make this a priority.

If you want to find out about how to be successful, there is no one better than a successful business owner telling you how he or she did it. Join us for our weekly podcast where we share REAL stories from REAL business owners that are having REAL success.  Join us for Small Business NAKED.

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Ben Anderson

How did such a young guy start a ski company?  Find out by listening to more of our interview with Ben, the founder of Islantic Skis.

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