Growing your business shouldn’t feel like rocket science, but ask any entrepreneur and they’ll tell you it’s a lot of work, a lot of trial and error and a lot of holding your breath to see if things are going to pan out. It’s a wonder then that so many business owners are leaving their growth up to chance. If you feel like you aren’t doing enough to promote your business, you are probably right.
But you didn’t need a rocket scientist to tell you that. You know there are more things you could be offering, selling, promoting, and researching in order to get your business where you want it to go. If marketing seems like a struggle, here are five things that are probably missing from your efforts. Incorporate these, and you’ll find that you have more time, energy, and a renewed sense of commitment to what was starting to feel like back-to-back marathons.
Table of Contents
Automation
If you aren’t automating at least part of your marketing efforts, you’re missing out – on time that you could be doing other things, that is. A lot of people don’t like the idea of automation because they think it feels impersonal, but ask yourself this question: if you aren’t making the time to connect with your audience on a regular basis, would automation at least put you in front of that audience?
If the answer is yes, and yes, it is the answer, then you need to incorporate some form of automation. Hang on to the parts where you interact with your community but put everything else online and let it sort itself out.
A Plan
Before you can even think about automation, you need a plan. But that’s not where the buck stops: you need a marketing plan for all of your business. This is about so much more than what you’ll post on social media every day this month. A marketing plan is an important document that can lead your business down the right path.
If you try to find a new road without a map, you’ll get lost. And your time is already such a commodity that it doesn’t make sense to take the hard roads on purpose. If your marketing strategy is hit or miss, sit down and make a plan. Even a half-assed plan is better than no plan at all. You can adjust as you go.
A Network
Your marketing strategy might be relying solely on your ability to push content out and reach your customers and potential customers. If you want to make the most of your marketing efforts and reach the most people possible, you’re going to need to get your network involved.
Ask for help, seek brand affiliates, offer discounts to people who help you out, run cooperative promotions with other companies. Tap into that network the best way you can. If you aren’t using your network and are just trying to sell to them constantly, they’ll get tired pretty quickly and move on. Include your network in your marketing strategy and watch how things change.
Money
A lot of business owners try to do their marketing strategy planning on their own because they think it will save them money. While it’s true that marketing can be expensive, the good news is that you can usually find someone to help you do at least some of the marketing pieces for a decent price.
Keep in mind though, if you want good help, you are going to have to pay for it. Trying to carry the load on your own is a recipe for disaster. There’s no need to make that trek by yourself and even if you have a small budget for marketing, spend it on the help to make your dollars count.
Time
Marketing takes time, and a lot of business owners think they don’t have enough time to get everything done. That’s true. But what isn’t true is that you need to figure out the perfect marketing strategy on the first go around. What is true, rather, is that you need time built into your marketing strategy to try to learn from your mistakes, find out what your customers want, and connect with people in a meaningful way.
Regardless of the industry in which you work, you need to build time into your marketing strategy to get things right. It might not be the first time you find success. Patience is key when it comes to building the best marketing plan for your company.
