Marketing, not for dummies but rather smart business owners.

1. Create a simple marketing plan.

All good things start with effective and clear planning, so sitting down with the key people in your business to create a marketing plan is a great place to start.

Marketing plans come in all shapes and sizes, with lots of differing advice on what makes it a good one. Rather than give you a generic ‘Marketing plan for dummies’, here are some of the things we believe all good marketing plans should include, so you can weave them into a plan that suits your business and needs. 

A ‘good’ marketing plan:

• Requires deep understanding of your target audience and market. Who are the people buying your product or using your service? Get to know their wants, needs and pain points. 
• Should be goals driven. Start with looking at your overall business mission and goals and then drill down measurable specifics. From this you’ll be able to decide what tactics you need to implement to achieve them. Great marketing plans link outcomes to specific activities and use hard numbers to measure results.
• Shouldn’t be linear or a ‘set and forget’ task done in January. Think of it as an ongoing process that involves tracking progress towards your goals, with regular reviews.
• Identifies clear roles and responsibilities. Remember the people creating the plan (a.k.a you and your key staff) are the ones accountable for its execution and success.
• Fits within your broader business budget. Money, money, money – yes, it’s time to set a budget for your planned activities and make sure it’s appropriate for your broader business spending.

2. Refresh and reenergise your online presence.

From your website to your social media platforms, review your business’s online presence. Do your profiles align to your brand? Is the information up-to-date and still relevant to your customers or clients? Are you using these platforms to show off what makes your business great?

For many business owners, the technical side of online marketing gets murky or scary. For others, marketing simply requires too much time that could otherwise be spent in the business. To this we say: pick one thing and do that really well. Dedicate one hour per week to do necessary website updates (or brief a web developer!). Take another hour to plan and schedule 2-3 social posts.

Remember: You don’t have to be on every platform, posting every day. Simply being human and creating posts that contribute to your overall consistent message is all that is required. Consider this your sign to grab your iPhone and film “A Day in Your Life!”.

Consider setting some measurable goals specific to your online platforms and include them in your marketing plan. The best thing about online platforms is that they provide you with a whole heap of useful data, so it’s easy to determine your ROI. It’s worth noting that the value of brand building is almost impossible to quantify online. Don’t get deflated if your posts don’t go viral – everything you put online helps to cement your brand and steady, consistent growth is also incredibly valuable.

5. Embrace AI with open arms.

AI is here and it’s here to stay – but this doesn’t have to be all terrifying for your business. When used correctly, AI tools like ChatGPT are actually incredibly beneficial for small business marketing.

AI chatbots are everywhere, with many brands using them as the first point of contact for customer enquiries. However there is so much more that AI can offer.

For tasks like brainstorming, planning and content writing, watch as your productivity and efficiency begins to rapidly increase. AI can also help businesses target ads to the right customers, personalise offers, segment audiences and even create social media posts.

A warning though: this is not to say that AI should solely be responsible for these tasks. It’s important for content to be fact-checked (ChatGPT is known to hallucinate and fabricate information). Moreover, the power will be in your ability to personalise AI-generated content, ensuring it reflects your brand’s values and beliefs and resonates with living, breathing customers.

6. Be you, go big or go home!

Our last of the 6 marketing tips for small business is really, really important. So listen up: just because you’re a small business, doesn’t mean you can’t be creative, clever and memorable.

People care less about your product and the details of what you do, than who you are and what you stand for. So, use your marketing efforts to communicate a feeling. Show your values and what you offer through humour, nostalgia or offering them a behind the scenes glimpse at who you are.

Don’t be afraid to think big! If it makes you slightly uncomfortable – you might be onto something! You are fighting for small attention spans in a saturated and competitive market, so the bolder and more creative you can be, the better.