This piece comes from the blog of John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing.
A little tough love today I guess, but the reason so many small businesses struggle is because they are unwilling to change. The marketing strategy, if there is one, is to do what everyone else in the industry seems to be doing. If that's your marketing reality, that little safe place, and it's not working, the first thing you have to come to grips with is that it is your fault.
But, but, but. . .
Okay, I'll cut you some slack, I didn't say that you wanted it this way, I just said that you're the reason it is this way.
So, now I should explain. The only marketing strategy you need to worry about as a small business is to find a way to be unique. To offer something that is different, package a service like nobody thought of, focus on a tiny portion of a market or create an entirely new way of doing something. And then - communicate that and only that.
But there in lies the problem. What I just described means, for most small business owners, that you are going to have to be willing to change almost everything you do, the culture of your entire organization, the manner in which you get in the way and the constant chatter of doubt that is going on inside your head.
Think you can do that? I suggest that your business success depends on it. Create a strategy that allows you to stand out, put every message into communicating it and stick with it fearlessly.
About Me
- Jeffrey Summers
- I am the expert you call when you need to learn how to increase top line sales, lower your operating costs, increase your profit margin, hire and train better managers and staff, evolve your operation into more and better ways of doing business, buy or sell a restaurant, improve your service, engineer (or re-engineer!) your menu, market your business better and less expensively, keep yourself from going nuts because you have no life anymore, open more and better restaurants, don't want to have to give up your first born child to pay a consultant and have more fun! My mission is to enhance the quality of life for my clients by providing the best products and services to help them achieve their personal and professional goals. I take great pride in my clients, my company, my commitment to service and the products I sell. I am a recognized expert in the hospitality industry with over 24 years of success at planning and executing strategies for delivering dramatic results, a former "GM of the Year" for 2 major, full-service, franchises, an Award winning Multi-Unit Executive with 2 of the largest restaurant chains in the U.S., published author, husband and father of two.