It happened to me again, just the other day!
I was having a fantastic conversation with a small business owner who was SO passionate about her business. We talked about how she loves to serve her customers, why she created this business and how proud she was of her success to this point.
And then the dreaded phrase came out of her mouth,
“I’m just not good at marketing my business, but I know someone like you could do it in no time.”
This for me is a big red flag. When I hear phrases like this one that talk about marketing as a passive thing, I know there is a disconnected understanding of marketing from the business owner’s perspective.
Marketing is NOT a diet!
There is not a simple “quick fix” or fast solution to “fixing” your marketing. Just as any great dietitian would tell you that a fad diet like low carb isn’t the answer to sustainable weight management, it’s the same with your marketing. With nutrition, we are seeing a huge shift in perspective to an anti-diet culture. Instead of recommending quick fixes, the nutrition experts are now working on topics like intuitive and/or mindful eating and creating a lifestyle of healthy choices – rather than a quick fix.
I want you to take a journey with me for a second and apply this anti-diet mentality to your marketing.
- In order to achieve anything with marketing, you have to know what your goals are. Marketing goals are often long term! We then break those down into short term action items to tackle, but the result isn’t immediate. You have to be able to know that what you are working towards will take longer than a month; and no, the perfect celebrity endorsement or influencer isn’t the answer either.
- Marketing at its core is based on connecting with people. That means you have to first know who your ideal customer is in order to connect well with them! I’m not just talking about defining that you are talking to mostly women who have kids in their 30s and 40s in your immediate area. I’m talking about WHO they are. What do they like? What do they dislike? What problems do they face day in and day out?
- Even as a graphic designer, I will be the first to tell you that the written content and messaging MUST be defined as a first step. Graphic design should be viewed as a shorthand for your long form content. That means you need to know what the long form is first, before diving into the pretty parts.
- On that note, design is also not just there to make things look pretty! Graphic design is in fact a visual language meant to communicate a concept to your audience. That means a bit of discovery into the elements you use - not just picking a logo from Etsy and calling it good.
- Most business owners struggle with sales because they don’t have a clear understanding of the foundation they are selling from. That means you need to put time and effort into what you are selling and how! What packages do they have available to them? Are you answering the relevant questions in your sales information?
- Only after the above points are defined should you dive into implementation and using avenues such as email marketing, social media, etc… to get your message out into the world.
So you can see business owner, there is not a marketing expert on the planet who can do all of the above items without you! No, a marketing expert cannot “quickly” change the entire course of your marketing and/or create great marketing out of thin air.
Even the marketing piece of your business needs YOU! You may need to put in some “heart work” to answer the relevant questions about your business that allow experts like me to do our job well. This isn’t a quick hand off – it’s a partnership and a collaboration.
The biggest thing you can do today is to put into your mind that marketing is NOT a diet and that it WILL take effort from you even if you are partnering with someone else. Don’t stray away from this part of your business because it isn’t your core area of expertise, you can polish the language and the pieces as you go!
Are you stuck in this mindset shift? I help business owners just like you overcome their fears and lack of confidence in marketing. Let’s chat!
