Everyone knows that marketing is really important but the biggest battle for most small business owners is finding the time.
Successful businesses are normally good marketers. They know it is important and they make sure that they devote enough time to marketing their business regularly. This is the key to their success, not the amount of money they spend.
Marketing needs to become as important as opening the doors in the morning. It needs the same attention as paying your bills or collecting money from your customers because it determines the long term success of your business. But because it is less tangible and generally less demanding (if you don’t do your marketing no one rings and chases you) it is easy to put off to another day. Another factor is the average business owner doesn’t really know how to market – they are good at what they do – not at marketing, which is logical.
But you can learn how to market, you can use your network of business associates and mentors to learn. If you ask people they will normally be very forthcoming in telling you what works for them.
There are plenty of good courses that offer simple marketing skills for all levels of business experience or else you can pay for a marketing consultant to teach you. Regardless of how you improve your skills, the point is that you need to commit time to marketing.
In your diary and weekly schedule, there should be blocks of time marked out where you focus on nothing but marketing your business. How much time is up to you. The more time you spend marketing the greater the results will tend to be but if you spend all of your time marketing and no time running your business the end result could be lots of new customers who leave because the business is poorly run. Clearly it depends on the size of your business and your support staff.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TODAY? Go through your diary and block out time for the next month to spend on marketing your business. You determine how much time but it must be adhered to. If you are not sure where to start, read a book that tells you how to market. Set up your files so that all of your material is at your fingertips. Meet with your business associates and mentors to get their advice and recommendations, but start it today.
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for this blog. I have come to a stage in my business (belly button polishing) where mementum has slowed and I can now look at the inner workings of the way I do things and what I need to do to re-gain the momentum, but manage the onslaught with beter systems and procedures. I am totally stuck on the Marketing and look forward to reading “101 ways to market your business” to gain perspective and ideas. I will let you know the outcome.
Misty
SnazzyJazzie Inc.
An interesting profession you cheeky thing!!! But I firmly believe that there is room for a professional belly button cleaning corporation and if you are the first to do it – congratulations. Mind you, its not the most savoury of jobs really is it?