Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

By Henry Brown

Marketing for small businesses is one of those aspects that can be either really natural and fun for small business owners or be the bane of your life. Some people aren’t naturally creative or good at marketing themselves, and that’s ok.

But failing to find a way to make your marketing impactful to get you the results is not ok. According to one study, around 88% of small businesses didn’t get viable leads from their marketing campaign. In contrast, another study found that nearly half of small companies identify marketing as their primary source of growth.

Both results are highly important, as you can see that many business owners rely heavily on their marketing to help them grow, but not all marketing efforts result in the leads and sales required or expected.

But there are ways to avoid being being in the second statistic and support the goal of the first one without wasting your money and getting the most from your marketing. These tips will tell you how.

Know your limitations

There is nothing wrong with not being a natural marketer unless you are working in marketing; then this is a massive problem. But small business owners wear many hats, and if the marketer one is not fitting well, you need to pass it over to someone who does fit.

This can be bringing a marketer on board in-house to help you create effective campaigns and secure the goods, or you can work with a marketing agency and lean on their skills, knowledge, and resources to assist you get the most from your investment.

Push the boundaries

Something that can be damaging in marketing is doing the same thing over and over because that’s how you’ve always done it, and hoping this time around will be the time it works. Chances are, if it’s not working now, it won’t do, period.

Push the boundaries of what your marketing campaign can be. Look into new marketing avenues, consider ideas and formats you previously thought you couldn’t use, and see the possibilities. It could be you finally started using that Instagram account you set up but neglected, you paid for the billboard in your local area, or created the perfect radio ad, whatever you identify as a good channel for you to pursue in marketing, consider it and look at the metrics to see if it’s worth finally taking the plunge.

Set your goals

What exactly do you expect your goal to be? If you don’t have an aim or goals for your marketing campaign, how will you actually know it’s successful? It seems simple, but it’s an important aspect, especially if you’re not getting any success of late.

Sit down and look at the results from previous marketing efforts. What did they achieve? What was the cost per lead or sale generated, and how can you improve on this? Let’s say you want to promote your new clothing line and boost success and sales on the launch date. The marketing approach you take for this will be vastly different from a company looking to secure a growth of 50% in leads for an insurance company over the next three months.

Know your goals, use these goals to explore the best marketing avenues available to you, and then use this approach to give you new focus and a revived marketing effort.

______

Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop, he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.