What do small business owners need to have in place to make marketing work?
Recently I was asked, “what do owners and CEOs of small companies need to have in place in order to make their marketing work?”
For some of you, this answer may not be surprising but for others, this will be an indispensable insight.
The absolute 1 thing that needs to be in place to make marketing work is “diagnosis before prescription.”
So many business owners and CEOs that I meet mention how they read about some new widget, or go to a conference and get an email saying, “this new method or software is going to 5x them or eliminate all their headaches,” and they’re just fumbling around with the tactic of the hour.
Occasionally, some of the widgets, and software do some good but the business never builds any kind of reputation, momentum, and awareness in the market because they’re all over the place.
So doing a diagnosis before you really determine what prescriptions you’re going to take to increase visibility, build trust, and lift sales is the most important.
What does a diagnosis include?
Lately, my team and I have been engaging small businesses that want to revamp their marketing strategy.
Now the thing about marketing strategy is that there seems to be a lot of confusion on what marketing strategy is?
If you Google “marketing strategy” you’ll be welcomed by any number of articles that reveal a list of marketing tactics — websites, content, promotions, social media, etc.
But that’s not how we see effective marketing developed and installed in the real world of a small business.
Diagnosis (strategy) before prescription (tactics) is how you do effective marketing.
Meaning that you figure out:
- why you do what you do
- who specifically makes an ideal client for your business
- what really sets you apart in a way that this ideal client values
- how to claim and communicate that value
So many businesses try to be all things to all people, so they compete with all things as well but during times like this, we’re discovering an intense focus on those core elements above is the best way to advance your business.
