Most small and mid-sized businesses treat marketing like a side project. Something you fit in when you can — and if the budget allows.

And I get it. It’s very easy to waste time and money on marketing tactics that lead to nothing. 

But the reality is: it’s impossible to make a sale without marketing.

Don’t believe me? 

Consider the last person who purchased your service or product. 

They had to learn about your businesses somehow. Then they had to make a decision to use your business. And finally they had to take action to purchase your service or products. 

Without those three steps, there would be no sale.

But… what about referrals? Surely that’s not marketing?

Yes, it is. In fact, it’s a powerful marketing channel — making people aware of a business, convincing them to select that business, and maybe even giving them contact info or directions to reach out to that business.

Every interaction your business has with the outside world — greeting a customer, a sign on your door, a brief chat with a neighbor about what you do — is marketing. 

So every business is marketing — the difference is some are doing so intentionally and others are not. And that gap is what stands between stagnation and growth.

The Tool That Increases Your Chance of Success by 300%

There are enough people out there telling you to worry about SEO, online ads, social media, or whatever marketing tactic is trendy that week.

But the reality is only one tool in marketing is proven across all industries, demographics, and business stages: a plan.

I don’t mean a content schedule, a website “funnel”, or a glorified marketing “to do” list. Instead, I’m talking about a strategic marketing plan for how you think you can:

• increase the number of people who are aware of your business, 
• convince more of them to choose you, 
• make it easy for them to buy — and then buy again and tell all their friends about you.

And then, after you make the plan, you need to revisit it every three months to see how it’s performing and adjust accordingly. If you do this, you will be more successful. 

It’s basic common sense. If you think something through before doing it, you’ll be more likely to see some results initially. And if you regularly assess what’s working, you’ll create a system that’s more effective by getting rid of waste and doubling down on efforts leading to results.

It’s not magic. It’s old-fashioned trial-and-error meets persistence.

This marketing process is vital to your business — whether you’re taking it seriously or not. So consider whether you want to continue treating marketing like a side project in 2024 — or if you want to be intentional about working on business growth.

Need a partner in the process? You know who to call!