If You're in Business, Marketing Is Your Business
Let’s talk about business marketing.
How much do you think big enterprises spend on marketing each year?
Well, let’s take a look:
Granted, small businesses don’t have such colossal amounts of capital lying around for marketing purposes. But, the point we’re trying to make is this:
If you’re in business, marketing is your business.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re regarded as an established major corporation or a mere startup.
The principle remains the same - You’ve got to take marketing seriously.
1. When you’re in business, you’re also in the marketing business
Without marketing, a business will die a slow and painful death. You see, marketing and advertising serve to draw attention to your brand and foster trust.
It’s through marketing that people come to know what you’re offering.
People buy from brands that are recognized and trusted. If they don’t know who you are, chances are slim they’ll be ready to part with their money.
To give you the stats: 87% of customers will first read an online review for a local business before making a buying decision.
The bottom line? If you’re running a business, understand that you’re also running a marketing business and it’s not about you it’s about your audience.
2. You need to learn the skills yourself or hire someone to support you
Being a small business owner is no walk in the park. You’re often juggling multiple roles all at once.
While it’s certainly possible to learn the fundamentals of business marketing through various courses like:
Your best bet would be to outsource this area to an expert.
With no shortage of gig platforms, examples being Freelancer.com, Guru.com, Upwork.com, it’s never been easier (nor cheaper) to build a remote marketing team than now.
Watch my talk on “Marketing You Can’t Ignore in 2021”
3. Create a strategic plan on how to get your product to market
The digital marketing space has exploded over the last few years.
And with more and more people shopping online, the need for strategic marketing plans is bigger than ever.
How will you get your product or service before the right audience? Which platforms does your target audience frequent most?
Do you understand the fundamentals of SEO and content marketing? Marketing is about showing up – you need to show up when people search on search engines.
This is when it pays to have an experienced digital marketer on your team to guide you and work with you to achieve your milestones.
Conclusion
No business can survive without dedicated business marketing plans.
Marketing is about connecting with your customers and keeping an open dialogue with them. It’s truly the core of any successful business operation.
How you market your SMB, the strategies you employ, and their frequency cannot be random.