Top 3 Excuses for Not Marketing a Small Business
October 31, 2009
I’ve talked to a lot of small business owners over the years and I’ve heard a lot of excuses as to why they don’t advertise, promote or otherwise market their businesses. I want to share the top 3 excuses I hear and try to defuse them.
1. “I don’t have the budget”. I know times are tough; we’re all feeling it. But that’s no excuse for neglecting the long-term health of your company. Take a realistic look at your finances, surely you can find $10 or $20 each week to sock away. No? Then brown bag it once or twice a week instead of eating out. Or skip that double low fat decaf frap a couple of times a week. Every little bit helps and if you can find just $20 each week, in 3 months you’ll have $240. Think that’s peanuts? Think again – that $240 will buy you a direct mail postcard campaign to about 200 people AND about 1000 emails. Now you are communicating with your best prospects and customers quarterly and all you gave up was a couple of lunches and a few trips to Starbucks.
2. “It’s too expensive”. There are so many free and almost free ways to promote your business that this is just plain lame. I have 3 words for you – HARNESS THE INTERNET. You’ve heard of Twitter, Facebook , LinkedIn, MerchantCircle and Google? You can use any or all of these to promote your business – absolutely FREE. I know what you’re thinking, “if it’s free it has to suck, right?” Wrong! Check this out – in less than 2 months I have accumulated over 170 Twitter followers; in less than one month, I’ve gotten over 40 Facebook fans, over 20 hits on my MerchantCircle profile and a call from a perspective client (proposal went out yesterday, keeping fingers crossed!). What does all this mean? That means for a little ole company like mine, in little ole Fairfield, California, over 230 people and small businesses who never heard of me 2 months ago, now know about me. How can that be bad?
3. “I don’t have time”. Ughhh, this one drives me crazy! I get it, you have a lot going on; customers to tend to, phones to answer, bills to pay – I get it. But one question always comes to mind: Is this really what you envisioned when you started your business? Seriously – wouldn’t it be nice to pay someone else to do all that? My guess is your answer would be a very tired “yes”. Then you need to find the time. Isn’t your business worth investing in? Just like budgeting your money you need to find a way to budget your time. Find 2 hours a week to devote to growing your business and before you know it you’ll be able to hire that extra help you need.
My point is this: Marketing is doable for small businesses – the tactics aren’t as time consuming or expensive as you think they are. But remember, none if this is going to be as effective or efficient without a strategy to drive the tactics. Planning is still the key to small business success.
I’d love to hear from you. Click here to leave your comments.
Who Do You Lean On?
October 26, 2009
I spent 3 days in Boulder, Colorado last week with about 17 fellow Duct Tape Marketing Coaches. It was the annual gathering of coaches and it was my first. It wasn’t unlike most conferences; we learned a lot from leader John Jantsch about all the latest and greatest trends in marketing and new Duct Tape Marketing products, from Duct Tape Marketing gurus Cidnee Stephen and Joe Costantino about speaking for leads and from the many Duct Tape Marketing supplier partners who attended.
We heard from Lesa King from istock photo about how to make our presentations more powerful with images, from Steve McCandlish about how to use ACT 2010 in our practices, Aaron Weiss from HP about their new awesome Marketsplash solution, Jenna Jantsch from Vertical Response about how to use email and the VR Lounge to promote our businesses and Jake Weatherly of Palo Alto Software about their amazing software tools for small business.
But the real learning came from the camaraderie and friendship of my fellow coaches – an amazing group of people; one of the most experienced and intelligent group of professionals and entrepreneurs I have ever met. What I find so striking about this group is their willingness to share their experience, expertise and advice. You would think that when you get a group of experts/coaches/consultants/sales people all in one place there would be some level of competition – but not with this group. And I think part of that reason is that we all know we have something special and to paraphrase John Jantsch, we have an abundance of it.
There is no other system out there like Duct Tape Marketing and there are thousands, if not millions of small businesses who need it. Each and every one of us is absolutely vehement about helping small business grow and thrive. During that entire 3 days, I didn’t once hear talk about profits or margins or “territories”, but what I did hear and see was the enthusiasm and the glow in each coach’s eyes as they explained how they help the small businesses they work with become more successful .
So all of this warm and fuzzy got me thinking: as small business owners and marketers we know the importance of networking for leads. We hear it all the time- get out there, meet people, ask for referrals, etc. But where does the average small business owner go for support? Where do they go to ask for help dealing with a particular issue or customer? Where do they go to get advice directly related to their particular business or industry? I don’t know, maybe most business owners have a bigger professional network than I do to draw upon for advice. But somehow, I doubt it. I know many of us tend to be extremely independent – and therefore have the “I can do it myself” mentality – that is after all, what makes us entrepreneurs, right? But I know I have to be careful, asking for help is something new to me. I have learned over the past couple of years that I don’t have all the answers and a support system is crucial to my success. I doubt there are many successful entrepreneurs who did it all in a vacuum and never leaned on anyone for support.
So I’d like to hear from you. Where do you go for support? Who is your support system? Where do you get advice about your business or industry? Who do you turn to when you have a problem or a challenge you don’t know how to solve on your own? I’m really curious about this, because I can’t help but think I’ve stumbled across something really special with Duct Tape Marketing.
To Tweet or Not to Tweet
October 18, 2009
Wow, social media’s reputation with small business really took a roller coaster ride last week. First, the “2009 Tribalization of Business Survey” reported that that 94% of small businesses plan to increase or maintain their social media budgets. Then came the Citibank Small Business survey that found 75% of small businesses have not found social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to be of value in generating leads or revenue for their businesses.
So what are we small business owners and marketers supposed to believe about the effectiveness of social media as a lead generation and revenue driving marketing tool? Wanna know what I think? I think it’s free – SO WHO CARES (what the reports say)? OK, I realize that may sound short-sighted and maybe even irresponsible to some of you, but think about it: what if someone offered to mention your business to 100 friends – for free – would you stop them? As long as it wasn’t a negative mention – of course you wouldn’t. I’ll make it even more realistic: what if 100, 1000 or even 10,000 customers and potential customers asked you to send them something of interest, either about your business, your industry or even you, on a regular basis and all you had to do is spend 15 minutes to prepare that message – would you do it? I hope your answer is yes. Guess what? That is exactly what social networking is. So then why would you automatically rule out social media as another way to promote your business without giving it the old entrepreneurial try?
With over 200 million people using Facebook alone, social media can’t be ignored as a viable and respectable marketing tool. Yet for many small business owners it’s still a big ole scary unknown. But let’s face it, social media is the fastest, easiest and least expensive way to build a presence and earn trust; but it still takes planning – and time. What harm is there in trying it? As long as you follow a few simple “rules” there is no harm- it can only help. Here are a few tips to get you started.
- Start small – Start with 2 social networking sites you are somewhat familiar with. Got a personal Facebook or LinkedIn profile? Great – set up a page for your business. You already know how to use the site; you already have a few friends, so use that to your advantage. The great thing about being in business for yourself is that your friends want to help you. Recruit them as your first fans. When they become fans of your business page, all of their friends see that- a great way to start building your business network.
- Become a fan or a follower – Your job (at first) is to watch and learn. Find companies that you like, especially those that are relevant to your business, and follow them (on Twitter) or become a fan (on Facebook) to learn what they do to stay in touch with their audience. On Twitter, I love @Zappos and @SmallbizMag and on Facebook Whole Foods. Another tip – search for people or businesses that are most likely to buy your products or services and follow them on Twitter. This will help you get to know them better and they may decide to follow you too!
- Don’t Sell – When you do start tweeting or updating your status the biggest mistake you can make is to start selling. No one is on social networking sites to have products and services crammed down their throats. That is the quickest way to alienate your social networking followers. Watch what other companies do – I have never seen Zappos even mention shoes in their tweets and Whole Foods – although they will promote specials and sales – they are usually promoting seasonal recipes or healthy eating tips that I find very interesting and almost always take the time to read. What are they doing? Getting me to know, like and trust them, so that when I do want to buy what they sell, I will think of them.
- Be helpful – There is no better way to start growing your social networking community than by helping others. Follow others in your industry (I would stay away from competitors) and repost their blogs or help them promote their events by retweeting or posting on your Facebook status if you think your followers will be interested in the content. By doing this you are making friends with others in your industry who may later refer you and you are offering interesting and educational content to your readers. Voila, you’re a social networker!
That’s it, 4 simple steps to get you started on your path to social networking success. Remember, social media is not going to take over the world as the only way to promote your business – it’s is just another tool in your toolbox. Used as part of a marketing plan, along with other forms of promotion, it can help you grow your business. Does it take a little time? Of course it does. But if you aren’t investing time growing your business, is your business really growing?
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+Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company
- Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses get the customers they need to sell more, increase profits and achieve all of their business and personal goals. We do this by implementing and managing marketing systems based on data and strategy - there is no guess work. For more information visit us at: FortuneMarketingCompany.com. We'd be glad to help!
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