The small business marketing and advertising conundrum

The small business marketing and advertising conundrum

Its always excites me when I come across diamonds in the rough. Individuals or small businesses which have massive potential which for some reason have not managed to realise this potential. These diamonds in the rough, are opportunities for liberation and that’s the greatest thrill which marketers face.

The reason I believe that these diamonds in the rough exist is that not all people are marketers. Great singers, plumbers, beauty therapist or Doctors are not always skilled at finding new potential clients or communicating their skill.

History is full of cases where products or businesses are launched ineffectively and fail only to be launched by another company years later and rush to success. Ever heard the saying, “The best thing since sliced bread” Well sliced bread had to be launched twice before it become the best thing.

Here’s why I believe that this problem exists. Small companies are often big enough to spend maybe 20000GBP a year on marketing but not big enough to hire a marketer of significant talent to truly grow a business. At the same time everyone in a small company is busy and so marketing becomes an ad hoc portfolio for someone who isn’t necessarily a marketer.

So what’s the solution? A solid, considered, well thought out marketing plan is where you need to start. Generating a sound marketing plan is something you can do within your company but my suggestion would be to enlist the assistance of a marketing expert. For a fee, you can ensure that your plan is more effective giving you a greater ROI and you will also gain the advantage of tapping into their network of agency partners and other strategic marketing alliances which can save you money in the long run.

I often speak with colleagues who tell me that they write their own marketing plans and I’m sure they’re pretty good but in the same way that everyone can write a short story or paint a nice picture, it doesn’t make them an expert novalist or artist. Get the right assistance at this stage because its often the difference between success and failure.

Once the marketing plan is in place, you can either ask the marketing consultant to drive the process or more cost effectively, you can hand the plan over to a project manager within your organisation to execute as agreed.