The Three Classic Marketing Challenges Faced By Small Businesses
The Three Classic Marketing Challenges Faced By Small Businesses
1. Do you have something good to say?
2. Do you say it well?
3. Do you say it often?
At my first question, “Do you have something good to say?” his eye-brows went up and he gave me a surprised and wary look. I think he was trying to figure out if he should feel insulted. Eventually he gave me a tepid answer that was far from confidence inspiring.
I then asked him “Do you say it well?” At this point, he started drumming his fingers impatiently on the table, clearly not comfortable with my line of questioning. “Of course we do!” was his eventual response and to prove his point he showed me some of their marketing collateral, and one or two ads they had run in trade journals. As I expected, their communications was the usual mix of unfocused copy-cat platitudes that so often plague small business marketing.
With my third and final question, “Do you say it often?” he became down-right angry. “Of course we don’t! It hasn’t done us any good so why the heck should we through good money after bad!? I ran an ad two months ago in our trade journal and got only two calls. Last year we sent out a mailer to 2,200 companies and hardly got any response at all!”
This exchange typifies three of the main reasons small businesses struggle to earn a great return on their marketing investment:
1. They don’t have a clear understanding of the real needs and buying criteria of their target markets, and they don’t make the effort to ensure that their offering (value proposition, USP, whatever you want to call it) is 100% aligned with these buyer needs and decision criteria. Only by doing these two things can you truly “have something good to say”.
2. Even companies that do have something good (or even great) to say, often then fail to communicate their message with any passion, creativity or clarity. It’s the equivalent of the finest sushi shop in the city advertising “Cold Dead Fish Sold Here”…
3. And lastly, even those small businesses with a great business offering, articulated in a compelling fashion, often still fail to succeed in marketing simply due to a lack of commitment and “stick-to-it-iveness”.
In future posts, we’ll look at each of these three challenges and how exactly small businesses can overcome them.
The Three Classic Marketing Challenges Faced By Small Businesses - To learn more about this author, visit Rich Gaasenbeek's Website.
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The other day I met with a client who was complaining that his marketing wasn’t doing a thing for his business. So I asked him three simple questions.
1. Do you have something good to say?
2. Do you say it well?
3. Do you say it often?
At my first question, “Do you have something good to say?” his eye-brows went up and he gave me a surprised and wary look. I think he was trying to figure out if he should feel insulted. Eventually he gave me a tepid answer that was far from confidence inspiring.
I then asked him “Do you say it well?” At this point, he started drumming his fingers impatiently on the table, clearly not comfortable with my line of questioning. “Of course we do!” was his eventual response and to prove his point he showed me some of their marketing collateral, and one or two ads they had run in trade journals. As I expected, their communications was the usual mix of unfocused copy-cat platitudes that so often plague small business marketing.
With my third and final question, “Do you say it often?” he became down-right angry. “Of course we don’t! It hasn’t done us any good so why the heck should we through good money after bad!? I ran an ad two months ago in our trade journal and got only two calls. Last year we sent out a mailer to 2,200 companies and hardly got any response at all!”
This exchange typifies three of the main reasons small businesses struggle to earn a great return on their marketing investment:
1. They don’t have a clear understanding of the real needs and buying criteria of their target markets, and they don’t make the effort to ensure that their offering (value proposition, USP, whatever you want to call it) is 100% aligned with these buyer needs and decision criteria. Only by doing these two things can you truly “have something good to say”.
2. Even companies that do have something good (or even great) to say, often then fail to communicate their message with any passion, creativity or clarity. It’s the equivalent of the finest sushi shop in the city advertising “Cold Dead Fish Sold Here”…
3. And lastly, even those small businesses with a great business offering, articulated in a compelling fashion, often still fail to succeed in marketing simply due to a lack of commitment and “stick-to-it-iveness”.
In future posts, we’ll look at each of these three challenges and how exactly small businesses can overcome them.
The Three Classic Marketing Challenges Faced By Small Businesses - To learn more about this author, visit Rich Gaasenbeek's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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