By Randye Spina, Founder, Marketing on a Mission, a certified BCFG

(To see the video presentation, go to our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/jJCPGyOH9T4)

The Situation

Of all the business functions you're juggling, Marketing is the most important. Why? Because Marketing – including all of its components such as sales and advertising – is the only revenue-producing business function there is.

To be successful, marketing should be integrated into everything you do. From operations to budgeting to your phone message to hiring and training employees, and more.

Doing this ensures you're not backed into a corner and that your phone won't stop ringing.

Creating a Marketing Mindset that aligns with your triple bottom line model is the very best competitive advantage against the big box stores and online giants. Discounting should not be the go-to, fallback strategy for growth. In fact, purpose-driven consumers shop with their values in mind and, according to a recent IBM/National Retail Federation survey:

• Half of consumers say they’re willing to pay a premium for sustainability

• Purpose-driven consumers represent the largest segment of consumers at 44%

All BCFGs can promote this competitive advantage and thread it through marketing and operations.

The Challenge

Achieving the right balance of time and budget. The good news is there are more marketing tactics and choices than ever before. The bad news is there are more marketing tactics and choices than ever before.

It can feel overwhelming especially when you are busy working IN your business and juggling the daily operations.

The Way Forward

The key? Consistency of messaging and marketing tasks keeps your pipeline full. Don't ever let yourself get caught in a situation such as this former client did: He spent 18 months on a construction project and during that time he let this fall by the wayside while he was busy. At the end of the project, he found himself with no prospects – he had let his pipeline run dry.

Marketing is an investment, not an expense

It is far too important to your livelihood so stay proactive and ensure that your Marketing stays afloat at all times. It will recalibrate up and down as your business fluctuates, but should always be top of mind. That's why I call it a Marketing Mindset.

1. Prioritize Marketing

There is a wise Buddhist saying 'What has long been neglected cannot be restored immediately,' and it is very true. For most, this begins with your website. It is home base and the place where you own and can control your image, brand, and content. From there any number of traditional as well as digital Marketing strategic elements will be combined. Which ones? Learn the best practices for your needs. Watch what your successful competitors are doing and find a way to STAND APART from them with benefits they can't offer. Don't think you have to discount to do this. Be creative. For example, a dry cleaner in my old neighborhood was open on Sundays. This was a tremendous competitive advantage for the owner who once told me that she was there on Sundays doing the books anyway, so she started opening the store and found it became very popular. I know it was with me! Cost = $0.

2. Make time to work ON your business, not just IN it

Studies show that approximately 15-20% of a business owner’s time be spent on marketing each month. A few hours each week doing basic marketing tasks will pay off in the long run. Of course, this also depends on the stage of your business and will fluctuate over time. Understand the rhythms of your industry and the needs of your customers so that you can plan for success. Is your customer list up to date? Is your email signature set up correctly? Is your social media, regularly scheduled? Are you thinking of new products or services you can offer? Do you have recent photos or videos to use?

3. Create and use a Marketing Calendar

Once you understand your customers' needs, and any seasonal cycles, then you should implement a Marketing calendar tool. Why? Because knowing what’s around the corner reduces frantic, last-minute stress and helps with best-practices strategic planning. It's easy to create reminders in advance using a calendar app to help you plan. For triple bottom line companies, there are a multitude of ways to engage with your unique consumer by celebrating events such as Black History Month, Earth Day, April is also National Diversity Month, June is Pride Month, August is Black Business Month, Hispanic Heritage begins mid-September, Women’s Small Business month fall is October, November is Men’s Health Awareness month, and December is Human Rights month.

•  Quarterly – Plan your Marketing three months ahead. Systematizing in quarterly chunks is less stressful than annually. So, for example, if you are a tax accountant, you'd want to start promoting your services in January for tax season. This would include emailing to existing/past customers, and perhaps an acquisition campaign to introduce your services to new customers as well.

• Monthly – Using social media management tools (many are free) can save you lots of time because it allows for scheduling and tracking messaging 30 days in advance.  Also, consider a monthly email newsletter.

•  Weekly – Check your website analytics. Get in the habit of watching your online traffic, where it comes from, how many contacted you, etc.

• Daily – Make time each day to be active with your social media accounts' followers and groups so you stay engaged and top of mind.

4. Be your own customer

To crystallize your Marketing efforts, change your perspective. Have you….Dialed your own business phone? Purchased from your own website? Sent yourself a package? Tested all the forms and links on your website? Signed up for your own email list? Googled your business? Googled your name? Is your website's copyright footer the current year? In other words, when prospects see your materials will it be clear that you're on top of your business? I recently had a call from a client who by accident found out his order form didn't work. Thankfully, the customer called to check up on their order which uncovered the problem. Upon digging further, it turns out that something happened to the contact form links and he had had dozens of inquiries but didn't know.

5. Always gather contact info

Tether your customers to you so you don’t have to chase them all over the neighborhood (or the internet). Doing this from the very beginning will give you an edge. This can be done in several ways including using an email service provider and linking it to your site to capture prospect information, or if you blog consistently, set up an RSS feed so subscribers are notified each time you put up a new post. Perhaps you have an office space with a front desk or a retail operation? It's easy to capture information there, and also consider creating a snail mail list to send special promotions, holiday and/or birthday cards to those you do business with, and collecting phone numbers can pay off big too. Just be certain to get everyone’s permission to opt-in and always provide an opt-out link to comply with FCC regulations.

6. Keep a sample file

Doing this makes it so much easier for you to create your own pieces and emulate proper benefit-driven Marketing verbiage. Start a literal folder or large envelope and label it ‘Samples’ to drop in tangible pieces you receive such as postcards and other mailings, even those you may pick up while out and about such as menus, etc. Also, create an email folder to save email promotions you like and can emulate in look or feel of those as well. It got your attention didn't it? I'm telling you this works wonders.

7. Understand basic SEO to use to your advantage

Labeling your content with appropriately optimized language amplifies your messaging to the audience that is looking for your business. 97% of consumers start their search for something online. Can your best prospects find you? Once you know the verbiage, incorporate across all your Marketing channels such as: website, social media, blogging, posting articles, etc.

8. Content is everything

Learn to write solid, edited pieces to publish online and position your expertise so leads come to you. LinkedIn articles, a blog, press releases, email newsletter, etc. – these are all opportunities to create digital content. Repurposing your own content is fast and easy. You can use it on your social media, blog, write articles, use in newsletters and more. When consistently using the same words and phrases you increase your SEO rankings. 

9. Keep it all organized in a Marketing Binder

Your marketing information should be prioritized right up there with knowing your bank account numbers and tracking your expenses. Think of a Marketing Binder as an indispensable operations manual that keeps your business on track. This is especially helpful if you hire seasonal workers, interns, part-timers, or consultants like me, as you’ll likely be changing passwords frequently to secure your information. You can use an online folder such as Google or DropBox or keep a 3-ring binder. Be certain you always have access to your critical account logins as well as visual assets such as the HEX#s and fonts used in your logo and on your site, sample ads/campaigns you’ve run, annual benefit reports, business card iterations over time, presentations, promo giveaways, etc.

10. Front line employees have a bigger impact on brand perception than any amount of Marketing spend

In fact, this can make or break a customer relationship,  especially in retail and service businesses. Train the daylights out of anyone who represents you to the public. Remind them that it is ALWAYS appropriate to say Thank you to someone who just gave you their hard-earned money. Treating customers right keeps them coming back. Did you know it can cost up to 10x more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one? Great service directly impacts your bottom line.

The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay

- Henry Ford

 

About Randye

After a successful corporate career in marketing and product development, culminating as VP Marketing & Product Development, I followed my passion and evolved into small business consulting, wrote a book on small business marketing, and started a career in higher education becoming an award-winning marketing and communications professor. I’m a two-time nonprofit board member and lover of the arts and all things creative. I’ve worked with 100s of small businesses across the nation in industries as diverse as aviation to yoga.

A Native Noo Yawka, I have a BS in Marketing from Pace University that took me nine years to complete part-time at night while I worked as a secretary in NYC’s financial district for banks and American Express. Then I earned my MBA full time at the University of Dallas.

Shortly after, I was recruited to be the first General Manager for a global travel startup in Southern California, then was recruited into another startup there to head up marketing for a financial services company. When they were sold, I was recruited into a Director’s position in Connecticut. It was there that I began my evolution out of corporate and started my first small business marketing agency, became a first-time author, a writer for several publications (and started my own, Mktg Zen), and a small business trainer & speaker, as well as a marketing and communications professor, then….

Two years ago, I sold my condo, car, and just about everything else and moved to Philadelphia where I didn’t know anyone but was craving a whole new life. I highly recommend shaking up your life now and again with new experiences. Let's talk.

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