As a small business owner, marketing might not be a top priority. Between all of your other tasks and taking care of your customers, marketing often gets put on the back-burner. It’s one of those things on your list that you know you need to do, but it never seems like there’s enough time.
Although your business may be small, you can still learn a few lessons from large companies. They have the budget and resources for huge campaigns, but you can implement these ideas on a smaller, more manageable scale.
If you’re not regularly focused on your marketing, it’s most likely because you don’t have a plan in place. Large companies have their marketing planned out meticulously. Campaigns are timed perfectly, and each step in the plan has a defined goal. Having a solid plan can make or break the effectiveness of your marketing. It keeps your message focused and reduces stress. With a plan to follow, you won’t need to worry about what tactic to try next.
Big companies know who they are marketing their products and services to, and that’s how they can deliver a marketing message that works. You may not have years of deep research into your target market, but you can still apply this concept. Narrow your focus on who you’re targeting, and it will help you craft a more effective message. It feels scary to narrow your target market because you don’t want to miss out on any sales. But the opposite effect happens when you narrow focus. Your true best customers will resonate with your message instead of seeing you as generic.
This goes hand in hand with having a plan. Think about companies such as McDonald’s or AT&T. They consistently push a focused marketing message. It’s not sporadic, and it isn’t based on the whims of the CEO. Staying on track with your plan and sticking to a consistent brand message will keep you in front of your prospects. Consistency creates the traction you need for your message to be heard.
Many independent business owners try to do everything by themselves to save money. This could be costing you more in the long run. Taking extra time to try to learn complex tasks takes away your time from other activities that you’re better at. You might end up spending more money in failed experiments, as well. Large companies hire experts because it’s more efficient, and the results are better.
You’ll get out of your marketing what you put into it. If you treat it as a secondary activity that can be done “when there’s more time” you’ll never see the results you desire. Look at the marketing strategies that large companies use and try to recreate those processes at a smaller scale.
