Do Some Businesses Not Need Marketing? and how essential is Marketing to a business?
I came across this again this week. So, I thought I might unpack in a blog and see what you think.
Whether we’re speaking with Business Owners or to medium sized international businesses, I am consistently amazed how often I’m told, “We don’t do much marketing,” or, “We don’t need that.”
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It’s not my job or place to judge these individuals, many of whom run super successful companies. But, I would like to state my opinion on the matter:
You have built a good business based on doing things how you’ve always done it. Probably via good relationships and excellent experience and knowledge in your field. And you have been able to do just fine with a limited marketing budget, a poorly designed, ineffectively articulated website, and no social media, because you’ve excelled in those two areas.
So I ask you this? Do you want “just fine”? Or do you want excellence, do you want to achieve and surpass goals, do you want to thrive and survive, open doors in new markets and wow your clients?
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No matter if you’re the super successful financial services firm on Collins Street that’s been around since 1940, a legal firm, a real estate company, a summer camp, a clothing store, a canned goods distributor, or an accounting firm, you need visibility, and you need avenues to listen and to communicate to your target audience, in order to be able to be ahead of the curve. Therefore in my opinion, everyone needs some form of marketing. There are many reasons why your business needs a Marketing Strategies and Plan.
When we speak about marketing, small business executives focus on one thing: spending money. And yes, while a successful long-term marketing strategy does cost some money, it should be seen as an investment in growth, not as burning cash.
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Today, you can reach new clients in more ways than ever before. I’ll spare you the social media sales pitch, because I’m sure you have heard that exhaustively.
Instead, I invite you to consider these questions:
- Can my business handle growth now or in the future?
- What would growth look like?
- How much do I spend each year to market my business (if anything), and how am I currently allocating those dollars? Can those dollars be allocated in a better way to help my company generate more revenue?
- If I set aside $______, how would I spend it?
- What is my biggest marketing fear? Is it too big of an investment? Will I be digging a never-ending hole? Do we not have the infrastructure? Will a marketing endeavour take up more of my time?
- Is my current website a good representation of who we are and how we do business?
- If I make the investment in a marketing strategy, will it really lead to results?
Ultimately, it’s all about question #7, right?
Any time you make an investment, you must ensure that you see a return on that investment. Companies that employ a reasonable marketing budget and do not see a return, quite simply, aren’t doing it correctly.
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This is one reason I started Sassy Marketing & Communications. Small businesses that don’t have millions to funnel into a marketing campaign need guidance on how to properly allocate whatever marketing budget they have to build a marketing strategy that generates results. Most don’t have someone in-house to manage the day-to-day responsibilities to implement and execute a solid strategy.
I want to know about your marketing goals and struggles. Send me an email with your answers to the above questions, and let’s see if we can find a solution for you (even if it does not include working with Sassy Marketing).
A strong business isn’t “just fine.” They aspire to be the best.
Additional Resources:
Download our strategy to make your business more visible online.
Find more help on using LinkedIn for Networking and Lead Generation
Our E-book on How to Woo Your Clients in the Digital Age
Sue Mills is a marketing, sales and digital specialist to the Disability services sector and the owner of Sassy Marketing & Communications. With over 20 years of experience working for with Sole Traders, SME and SMB she shows her clients how to step up and out to be sustainable and thrive in their practices through adopting smart and valuable marketing strategies. Call Sue on 0477 468 888 for a confidential discussion or visit www.sassy.marketing.
