Most marketing activities carried out by small businesses fail. At the heart of most small business is the business owner and most got into business because they are good at doing what they do and have a passion for doing it well. But most small business owners have no training in how to market a small business. Over 95% of small business owners select one of three approaches to marketing that doom them to failure.
The first marketing approach, which is used a lot by small businesses, is “copy cat advertising”: typically one company will “copy” another’s adverts. This often produces no significant return on advertising dollar spend. The reason for this is that by using the same advertising “message”, (and this may be used by many other companies as well all copying the same approach) you are not defining yourself against your competitors – you are actually saying you are the same. This does not provide you with any unique selling point to differentiate you in the marketplace.
The “forever advertising” is to decide on one type of advertising and just stay with it forever. For example, advertising year after year in the Yellow Pages, or ongoing advertising campaigns in your local newspaper. Where this fails is that it is only reaching the same people who access or read these mediums year in and year out. How do you measure if this is the best spend for your marketing dollar when you only have the one ongoing/unchanging method. This may mean limited growth and potential for your business.
The final form of popular small business marketing that is doomed to failure is the “do nothing” approach. With this approach the business owner typically believes that their product or service and how they do things will speak for themselves – it doesn’t.
Marketing can appear a strange and puzzling world to the unacquainted and it may seem hard to understand why it has to have a place in small business processes. What marketing is about is allowing people to: get to know, like and trust you, your business, products and/or services.
The first step is to be clear about who your ideal customer is and to be as specific as possible – what is it that makes up your dream customer? If you are not sure how to identify your “ideal customer”, then look at your best current customers and work from there. You need to understand specifically what makes up your ideal customer, by knowing things like: their location; number of employees who is the owner and what are they like; what’s their annual turnover; do they have problems you could help solve; and anything else that will help you to clearly define them.
The next step of identifying the “irresistible offer” for your ideal customer, is about what you can offer them that will make them want to rush out and become a customer. This “irresistible offer” can define you in the eyes of your customers above your competitors. Consider the promise that Dominoes Pizza’s made in the past that blew their competition out of the water: “Pizza hot and fresh to your door in 30 minutes or less or its free.” Dominoes Pizzas understood that their ideal client would find this offer irresistible, as their customers wanted hot pizza delivered right now to them guaranteed.
The last step is to communicate your irresistible offer to your potential ideal customers in a way that they can get to know you, like you and trust you. The best way to do this is via people just like them sharing their positive experiences about your business. This can be in the form of a testimonial from current customers delighted with your business. You will then need to package this with your offer and possibly some detailed case studies and get it out to your prospective new customers. This will build awareness of your business and assist in the development of likeability and trust. If you are then able to follow up with your potential customers personally, you will be well on your way to driving new customer to your small business.
Want to find out more about Pyxis Business Partners marketing expertise, then visit Pyxis Business Partners website and request your free consulting session on Brisbane marketing for your business′ future success.
