content development

Does Your Small Business Marketing Strategy Need to Lose Some Weight?

Imagine you’re at the world’s most lavish buffet. There’s caviar and cream puffs, filet mignon, roast beef, roast duck and roast goose — and you intend to eat all of it.

Then you wipe your mouth for the last time and realize it’s going to take a team of Clydesdale horses to pull you out of there because you passed “bloated” an hour ago and kept on eating.

Small business marketing is the same, except here, the buffet is made up of a hundred tactics: social media, content marketing, direct mail, email, website design, newspaper ads, mobile … and the list goes on.

If it’s time to remove some excess fat from your small business marketing strategy, here are some tips on slimming down.

Focus on Satisfaction

Did you really “need” the caviar? Probably not. But it was there, so you tried it — and you didn’t like it. That would be the end of salty sea eggs for you, right?

The same mentality should go for your small business marketing strategy — if something doesn’t work for you, don’t keep doing it. Whether it’s a failing direct mail campaign or an offline marketing strategy that isn’t getting results, you should never chase after a bad idea just because it’s already on your plate.

Instead, examine those failing strategies and decide whether it’s the tactic that isn’t working, or whether the medium simply isn’t the right one to chase down your potential customers. Conversely, look at what’s going right. Do you have a thousand active and engaged followers on Facebook? A website that rocks? You might want to consider doubling down anywhere your efforts are bearing fruit.

Trim the Fat

What does your current marketing strategy look like? How much is it costing you, both in time and actual dollars? Is there something you could cut?

An honest look at where your marketing dollars are going, coupled with a willingness to shave off any superfluous expenditures, can save you plenty in the long run. Anything that’s overly time- or cost-heavy but isn’t producing significant results should be considered for the cutting room floor.

Streamline Your Plate

Buffets are nothing if not efficient. The soup and salad lead to the sides, which lead to the entrees, which lead to the desserts. This lets everyone take what they need in the order they’d typically take it.

Don’t be that small business that dumps everything onto one sloppy plate.

Figure out what your social media efforts do for you. Take a look at your website – is there any unnecessary overlap? Now look at your email marketing — are you at risk of hitting too many people with your message too many times, but missing out on others? Maybe focus more on mailers or local sponsorships instead.

Your marketing strategy determines the entire success of your small business. Don’t fill up on dessert before you’ve had your soup!

If all this talk has made you “hungry” for more small business marketing tips, call Mischa Communications for a reservation! We can help you fill your marketing plate — without all the fat!