Small businesses must be a lot more aggressive and direct with their advertising dollar.  The problem is that owners typically do what the big guys do and run advertising like their neighbors or the big guys.  That formula is this--the name of the company, a few benefits, perhaps a picture or two, and a phone number.  The message is "ok, here I am...I'm not much different than the next guy but please call so that I can sell you something".

You must make the decision when you go into business that you will differentiate yourself from your competitors and be creative when advertising.  Taking the 'road less travelled' means no matter what the communication, you have an attention-grabbing headline, sub-headlines, description, a call to action, a guarantee and a couple ways to contact you.

The problem is that the approach is out of the comfort zone...fewer small business owners go this way because they consider it to be a risk. I can tell you from practical, real-world experience that following the crowd in this case is the biggest risk of all.  What's been your experience?

It's easy to get caught up in the trap as there's already so much to do within your own business.  But we need to keep track of what our competitors are doing for a couple of reasons.  The first reason is because you want to stay positioned competitively.  If one of your competitors is making a play for one of your target niches, you need to be able to respond.

Another important reason to stay in tune with your competition is to keep up with how they're going about it.  They may be using tactics that are working that you never considered.  Stay in touch with your competition as much as possible and you'll find a lot of useful insight on approaching the marketplace.

The truth is that marketing the business is a discipline, much like exercise.  Do you really have to market?  Probably not to survive...but in order to grow and flourish...yes, you do.  The same goes for working out.  You don't have to work out...you'll probably live another day.  But in order to thrive and feel good on a daily basis, yes...you need to work out.

And like exercise, it needs to be done on a routine basis.  It takes some time for the muscles to build and tone.  Similarly, it takes some time for your prospects to know, like and trust you.  They need to be contacted a few different ways and over time to understand and be attracted to your offer.

Do you have a problem with exercise and working out?  Hey, no one says it's easy.  My suggestion is to hire a coach or find a workout partner who can hold you accountable until it becomes a habit.  The same goes for business.  If you're not at the level yet where a full-time marketing person is affordable, then find someone who can do it part-time for you OR hire a marketing coach.  Whatever you do, make sure those things get done...marketing and exercise...and you'll run the kind of business (and life) that you want!

So since about 60% of the general population base their decisions in some part based on what others do or have done, I think it's wise to use testimonials...on your website, on your collateral, print ads, etc.  According to Dan Kennedy, the direct mail guru, adding a testimonial(s) to your copy increases response.

"Social proof" is the term used for the tool that influences those who use external sources to make decisions.  Social proof comes in the form of testimonials, case studies, a mention in the newspaper or a printed article, etc.  The bottom line is that a large percentage of your target market is externally influenced so I believe that testimonials are definitely worth it.  What do you think?

Per day:
Business Journal (Phoenix) - 500 messages
Consumer Reports - 202
Texas A&M Study - 750
Newspaper Asso of America - 2500
Book DataSmog - 3000
UCS (Union of Concerned Scientists) Study - 3000
University of Washington study - 1000
Nielsen report - 1500

What this is telling me is that we still have a LOT of advertising to digest...particularly when the average consumer has little to spend on discretionary items. But a lot of that advertising continues to be below average. My message to you is that you still need to market and advertise...but just make sure it's targeted. That way, you'll get through when others don't.

For example, a software client was having trouble with someone on their sales force who was producing but was a disruptive influence and was, in my opinion, hurting the efforts of the sales group.  And so I introduced a story of my experience with a similar person I worked with in a sales organization at AT&T.  I described the short term gains but long-term pain associated with the person.  This helped fuel the dialogue around the rep's future with the company.

In selling situations, I have typically used another person as an example of how they came to decide on the product after working through some doubts and the example has translated to the person I was selling to.  Through the introduction of a similar example, people are less likely to be defensive and actually welcome communication that will help them to better understand.

Wise people use stories to relate because they know people are comfortable with them.  I suggest that you use this in marketing, sales, and other communications situations.  A good example of this in the marketing sense is the use of case studies.

Do you use case studies?  How have they worked?

As I wrote in an earlier post, a new marketing model has emerged. The good news is that it empowers small businesses to compete with the big guys and it provides national and even international exposure as opposed to just local reach. But the biggest advantage I think is that because everything feeds into a central area (website/blog), your marketing can build on itself over time. That is, information like product/service updates, branding elements, blog posts about new promotions, frequently asked questions, etc can just be added to the website or blog and be stored for viewing indefinitely, 24 hours a day! These things are all picked up by the search engines and add visibility points that send potential customers back to the site. In the old model, other than a phone number, there was no central information area. So if someone saw a flyer and didn't want to buy the product/service at that time, then the chance of a sale now or later greatly diminished without a way to communicate in the future.

So what's the drawback to the new model? By far it's the time and attention you'll have to spend on it. It means a lot of writing...copy for the website and landing pages, for emails/enewsletters, blog posts, articles, press releases, tweets, facebook posts, creation of profiles for social media sites, ads, and so on. And it means content creation like for videos, podcasts and audiocasts...all in addition to the traditional marketing activities you're already doing.

It requires focus and discipline to stay on track as your competitors will be doing the same. You won't have to do everything perfectly (it's tough to do all these things plus manage the business), but ask yourself this question- if you're about to buy something, who are you going to buy from...a company that has a shoddy website (or no site at all) or a company that has a robust, friendly website/blog where buying is easy? The ones that win now and in the future will build a marketing machine that's informative and compelling. If you're not a writer/content creator, then use the resources already in house (marketing person, assistant, etc) to produce the content for you. Or hire someone to manage and produce for you. And start having fun with this new model...sheesh!

And sadly, I believe they’re misled to some degree. There has always been a battle between form and function in the arts/creative area…the looks and aesthetic versus the results and pragmatism. Finding the right mix is the key. According to my contacts there say that the focus from the professors is more on the student’s creativity and artistic license than the needs of a target audience. 

These same students will graduate and go on to compete with each other in small and large ad agencies to come up with aesthetically pleasing graphics and clever angles that sometimes don’t sell anything…but look great. My message to you is to keep a sharp eye on this and manage it. Focus not on whether your ads/websites/images are graphically pleasing but how effectively they’re getting your prospects and customers to buy.

I can't stop thinking of a line from a movie as I help my clients build business in a way that is manageable for them.  The line comes from the movie ”City Slickers”. If you remember, Billy Crystal’s character goes on a cattle drive looking for direction at mid-life. On the cattle drive, Curly (Jack Palance) turns to Billy’s character in the saddle and delivers the best answer…holding up his index finger, Curly declares, “one thing”...find that one thing you’re good at and want to do and just do it.

I can’t help but think that that answer, perhaps a “set of things” for you is the best answer for your business.  The fact of the matter is that there are virtually unlimited ways to market your business.  The successful common denominators are consistency and sustainability.  No matter what your business is, if you were to run a billboard campaign for years, you'd bring business in.  Granted, there might very well be better ways, but the element of the prospect getting to know, like and trust you through a billboard ad would take place.

My recommendation is to find a set of things (marketing mix) that reach your prospects in different, impactful ways and that fit your company's time, strengths and interest. Otherwise, you'll start and stop over time and never gain marketing traction.

Are you spreading the company too thin in terms of your marketing efforts?  How effective has it been?

I met with the owner of a services company in Atlanta the other day. Like so many small businesses, he was from that industry and decided to strike out on his own by finding some capital, finding a couple of clients and growing through referrals. And, like some other businesses, he’s done ok.

But growing solely through word-of-mouth early on is a blessing and curse. The blessing is that it’s a cheap way of marketing, the leads are stronger than an advertising lead due to the relationship nature, and that you can grow into a pretty sizable business depending upon how much time you put into it. But the curse is more often than not that all kinds of business comes in (some not-so-good), the business coming in is not predictable, and the business tends to grow to a certain point then levels off due to the time that owners have to continually invest.

For these businesses, the learning curve on becoming a more effective, efficient marketing operation is steep. How do you get leads into your business? How has it changed over the years?