Small Business Marketing Can Be Frustrating
Over 80% of customers for an average local business come from a 5 mile radius. But how do you reach them? How do you know if you’re competitors are reaching more prospects than you? How do you have your business found and also draw those prospects to your business? Is your small business marketing working?
The frustration of small business marketing!
These questions have been at the heart of the challenge of small business owners every since the world’s second business opened its doors 
Seriously, it used to be more simple. Newspapers, billboards, radio, etc. had a captive audience in that they were the only options. The yellow pages (the fat yellow book that used to be relevant) was another option. But now, with the internet being so ubiquitous and mobile devices providing online access to people no matter where they are, small business marketing has become much more complicated.
Small Business Marketing in the Age of the Internet
With the internet giving us access to so much information, small business marketing has not only become more complicated, but its easier than ever to be lost in the “noise” of so much data that we are all exposed to.
Ironically, while it is now simple to market your company online, its almost impossible to be found unless you are current with search engine optimization, social media marketing, on page optimization, off page optimization, copywriting, backlinking, the latest search engine algorithm updates, etc. UGH! Not only do you need to be knowledgeable about these subjects, you need to have the time to do the work needed to make them work.
Small business marketing is frustrating…but it doesn’t have to be this way.
Its common to find small business owners struggling to find enough hours in the day/week/month to get everything done that they are working on. Most have a dozen or so projects in the works at any time, all crying out for attention. Add attempting to become a small business marketing online promotion whiz to the mix and brains will begin short circuit!
One of the keys of successful small business marketing and small business ownership in general is the ability to delegate and outsource. A typical entrepreneur launches a business with a few great skills and those skills allow a business to built around them. As the business grows or the owner tries to grow the business, more and more tasks and responsibilities come into the picture. Eventually, even the most capable of multi-taskers will become overwhelmed and their success will slow.
At this point, its critical to have a solid foundation in place that contains goals, mission, values, a proven business model, a marketing plan, etc. At the point of overwhelm, this foundation allows for selective outsourcing of areas which are too complicated, uninteresting, time-consuming, etc. to be outsourced in a way that helps the company grow and the owner enjoy being an entrepreneur.
Small business marketing is perfect for outsourcing…
Small business marketing is as much science as art and producing results takes a great feel and a measured and process driven approach. While some entrepreneurs have these skills, most find them challenging. In particular, many business owners whose primary customer base is local find online marketing to be more magic than science!
More and more customers are finding local businesses through internet search. Approximately 20% of internet searches are looking for local businesses. Mobile searches (on internet capable devices like smart phones, tablets, etc.) are even more locally oriented with almost 40% of all mobile searches involving searching for local businesses.
Those people have their hand on their check books, credit cards, cash, etc. and are considering purchasing.
Can you afford to have them find your competitors time after time?
Even if you’re not interested in growing your business and enjoy it the size it currently is, can you afford to see business start to slip away and have your business shrink because your competition has better small business marketing?
Its hard to know how your local small business marketing is faring, especially in light of your competition. I have a free software tool that will help you answer the question. On the right had of this page, you’ll see a blue box where you can enter your business phone number. The tool uses your number to look at your business, local competition, potential customers reached, etc. and provides you with a quick report you can view immediately.
I’ve also added a follow on step where you can enter your information on the report page for a great 15 minute video on steps you can take to improve your marketing. Enjoy!
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your small business marketing efforts, please call us at 877-242-4812 to learn which of our three packages would fit best with your goals.
Michael Nelson
Your “Vice President Of Online Marketing” and Small Business Marketing Guru
Cogent Consulting Group
877-242-4812
michael@thecogentcoach.com
P.S. If you’re not reading this article on my blog page and would like to know how your small business marketing ranks, here is the link: http://thecogentcoach.com/wordpress.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this tool! I had no idea I was ranking so poorly, but after listening to your instructional video I’m making some changes. Thanks!
Twitter: cogentcoach
June 5, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Thanks for the feedback, hope the video helps with your changes and results.
Michael
Great to know there are more simple ways to attract customers instead of paying for each click or SEO services where you don’t know what the results might be. I hadn’t considered that there are so many ways to improve local listings and marketing.
Twitter: cogentcoach
June 5, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Bob, its always nice to find out how to get better results with less work and expense – good luck with the marketing!
Can you tell me a bit more about this system? I downloaded my report and would like to know more. Thank you in advance and thanks for the software!
Twitter: cogentcoach
June 6, 2012 at 10:26 am
Hi Sara…this system is focused on Google Plus Places and optimizing your business site, your business Google Plus Places site and your marketing to put your business on the front page of the search results. Once everything is in place, its fairly common to have 10-15 prospects call (or visit depending upon your business) each week. These are people with one hand on their checkbook ready to purchase and they’ll come to you instead of your competition (we only work with one business / industry per city)!
Michael
I agree that thanks to the evolution of the internet, marketing a business has become complex, but along with the cons come the benefits that search engine optimization and social media management bring. The reach that a business can have if they know how to go about it is very powerful. If you have a good website, it can be more than an extension of your business card. It can function as a full time sales person.
Twitter: cogentcoach
June 8, 2012 at 9:21 am
Hi Theodore…spot on comment. With great risk comes great reward and that is the case with online marketing. If you take advantage of it and do it correctly, you’ll grow and sustain that growth. If you do nothing, your competitors will leave you behind and your business can face hard times.
Michael
When I saw the first frame of this video, I thought it was going to be one of those clever new trends where you watch a hand doodle illustrations onto a white canvas while a voice narrates the message. I have seen several people or companies do this for video, including a nationally broadcast sports talk show on ESPN. This was a decent video. Regardless, you can’t go wrong with a classic melody as a soundtrack.
Twitter: cogentcoach
June 12, 2012 at 7:14 am
Paul, I love those videos too! I received an estimate for one at around $2,300… I’ll add one as a “signature video” for my front page at some point as I think they are great at telling an engaging story.
Michael
That is quite a telling statistic: 80% of customers come from a 5 mile radius. What an opening doozy of a statement. This really does make take a hard look at how you are doing in terms of your marketing efforts compared to your local competitors. I don’t think it’s a matter of comparing yourself to others, but since you can’t play against the competition, like sports teams can, this is the next best thing.
Twitter: cogentcoach
June 12, 2012 at 7:09 am
It surprises most small business owners, especially those who think they need to cast a marketing net over large swaths of territory.
Michael
The article brings up a good point. One that happened to me. I started an advertising directory and in an attempt to drive more traffic to the site, I added a sports blog in the hope that it would attract sports fans which would stumble upon the links to the advertising directory. Well, it worked in driving some traffic, but I quickly found out that keeping the blog updated became tedious and time very consuming.
Twitter: cogentcoach
June 19, 2012 at 9:53 am
Rebecca…the problem you’re describing is one that has led to so many low quality posts and tools that “create” posts to fill a blog. The problem is that when the quality suffers, so does the quality of the prospect that may follow any links. You might also give thought to outsourcing some of the writing to keep the quality high, but reduce your work load.
Michael
People get so excited about starting a business, most often take costly shortcuts. One of these shortcuts is the temptation to ignore proper budget planning and allocation of marketing dollars. You are counting on friends, word of mouth, and just plain luck to grow your small business and think that you can save some money by not having a professional marketing plan. There is only one problem. This approach rarely works. Your friends are only so many.
Twitter: cogentcoach
June 19, 2012 at 9:52 am
Angela…you’re absolutely correct. In many ways its like building a house and not having any money left over to decorate or furnish. The over-reliance on the network (existing) to generate business is one of the causes of the feast or famine cycle that many businesses suffer through.
Michael
I suppose marketing used to be super simple way back in the days of main street America. Then it began to evolve as newspapers and local publications began to multiply in number in the 1990′s, when magazines began to increase into niche concepts. Then of course there was also the yellow pages, which was the standard for local marketing for years or even decades. But since the turn of the century everything has gotten more complicated.
Twitter: cogentcoach
June 19, 2012 at 9:50 am
Sonia…its become more easy to access but immeasurably more complex!
Michael
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