Small business marketing problems…everywhere you look they sprout up as quickly as those stupid weeds in the backyard. (If only Home Depot sold something that offered small business marketing solutions for under $20.)
Unfortunately, unlike the AA recovery movement, simply acknowledging you’ve got a small business marketing problem ain’t enough…you’ve got to dig in there and find a frickin’ solution.
So, having started seven businesses myself — and having consulted on dozen more — here are FIVE super-common small business marketing problems and how to make them go “bye-bye”:
How to Solve the Most Common Small Business Marketing Problems
Problem #1: Generating Leads When You’re Broke
If there’s one complaint I hear over and over again – aside from the fact that Fortune magazine has the worst website ever with those damn pop-ups – it’s that “we need more leads, we can’t afford to get new leads.”
And while it’d be nice to be able to uncover an additional 25k to spend on your next media campaign, the truth is that your limited budget is actually an asset.
Because it forces you to get really granular and focused with your lead-generation. (So focused and granular that you can’t help but succeed.)
Time and time again with the clients I’ve worked with their lead-gen efforts have stalled because their messaging is too vague and general.
“We’re trying to reach (realtors in Colorado; restaurant owners in Ohio; Krav Maga instructors on the East Coast), but we just can’t get any traction without spending a ton.”
This doesn’t work for two reasons:
- The big-bad retail giants can always spend more than you. You’ll never win. You’ll go broke trying.
- Everybody thinks they are a unique snowflake and that nobody understands what it’s like to be them. (“I’ve owned a pizza parlor for 10 years in Columbus, Ohio…what does a Chinese restaurant owner in Cleveland know about my struggle.)
So, instead of trying to convince your potential leads that they are NOT unique snowflakes — that your small business marketing solutions work just as well for Thai restaurant owners as it does that stoner who owns the smoothie shop — use their prejudice to your advantage.
This means you:
- Segment your ideal customer base as small and granular as you can (Not realtors in Colorado — commercial realtors in Denver; luxury realtors in Aspen; Colorado realtors in the first year of business)
- Create a piece of content that addresses those folks specifically (webinar, blog post, YouTube video)
- Focus all your promotional capital generating leads from this narrow group
Not only will the ad spend be significantly cheaper when you niche things down really far. But you’ll learn valuable lessons about what works and doesn’t work in your sales process, when you do to expand other customer segments you’ll have made all your dumb mistakes already.
And be ready to kick serious small business marketing ass.
Problem #2: Ain’t Got No Time (or Brain Cells) to Create Content
Okay, great, Michael. So, I’m supposed to create content for this niched-down customer segment.
I barely got time to keep the lights on, let alone write another frickin’ blog post that nobody will read.
I hear you. I been there. So tired at the end of the day that the last thing you want to do is create some Instagram posts.
But here’s what to remember:
- You don’t need a ton of content – Forget the whole “blog 1x a week.” That comes from the prehistoric days of RSS feeds…when people actually read words on a screen. Now, you just need a piece of content or two, for each audience segment, which you can promote with a Facebook ad.
- You can do it however you want it – Don’t like writing? Do a video. Scared of video? Do a podcast. Hate the sound of your own voice? Do a Q&A of the most common questions people have about a topic.
- Have somebody else do it – There are a ton of unemployed English majors and frustrated theatre majors who actually like to express themselves. So, let them. Tell them the end result you want and let them research their way to expertise.
Problem #3: Picking a Social Media “Lane”
Social media: that great instrument of social change, that reservoir of small business marketing solutions, that incredible time-suck that can drain your small business resources quicker than a Fyre Festival.
Don’t get me wrong. I love social media for business. I wrote six books on the subject. Some of them are actually pretty good.
But the only thing worse than NOT using social media with inbound marketing for small business...is to use TOO MANY social media platforms.
Not only does it dilute the effectiveness of your message, but it creates massive overwhelm that doesn’t lead to tangible results.
The key is to pick the “right bait for the right fish.”
I like to choose two primary social media channels that I’ll focus on, and then use IFTTT to re-purpose that messaging to the other social platforms.
For example, if we were selling a lifestyle product – something that has some fun attached to it — then I would go with Facebook and YouTube as my primary social media channels. Then create IFTTT to re-purpose all my activity on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
If I were selling B2B coaching, then I would focus on LinkedIn and YouTube, and re-purpose my content on Twitter and/or Instagram…and possibly Quora.
Doesn’t mean you can’t be everywhere at all times. It just MEANS your focus is on two major lanes…and then set it up so it looks like you never sleep.
Problem #4: Increasing ROI (Without Spending More Frickin’ Money)
This is where things get super ninja. Making more revenue without spending more capital.
There are a TON of different small business marketing solutions you can use to help boost ROI, but here are my two absolute favorites (not just because they work, but because they’re easy to implement)
- Improve existing systems – Take any metric – landing page conversion rate, email click rate, time on site, customer acquisition — and improve it just slightly and it exponentially boosts revenue down the line. (The key is to look for small improvements, not huge breakthroughs.)
- Increase average customer value – Forget trying to find 100 new customers to pad your bottom line. (Unless you got time to work on that.) Instead, look for a way to make incrementally more from your existing customers. Can you offer one-on-one services? Premier-level products? Exclusive membership? Bundled suite of goodies? Whatever it is, look for ways to sell more (without creating more) to the people who already know and trust you.
What’s Your Take on Solving Small Business Marketing Problems?
Got a couple of small business marketing problems that you’ve overcome? Or some that continue to keep you up at night? Let us know in the comments below!
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