3 Tips Every Business Owner Should Hear About Trying to do Their Own Marketing
If you’re reading this you are likely an entrepreneur or business owner of some sort, and as a result, you probably wear many hats… not necessarily because you want to (more sleep and free time would be nice!), but because that’s what it takes to operate a business sometimes, especially in the beginning. I’ve been there.
From hiring to dishwashing and everything in between, you have to know and often do every level of work that comes with operating your business. This includes the marketing unless you have someone on staff helping out (generally in a part-time capacity). If you’re like most small business owners (even mid-size sometimes too), you’re likely responsible for the marketing.
I have news for you though, and this is directed at my fellow Type A personalities specifically. You can’t do it all. Or, maybe you can (as I’ve tried), but you can’t do it all WELL. Isn’t that what you ultimately want? To have a successful business where all facets of it are operating optimally with the most return possible? Of course, it is. That’s part of the reason why you shouldn’t be doing your own marketing.
1. Marketing is likely NOT your area of expertise.
Would you want your plumbing company taking care of the electrical at your house? Just because one of their employees took a course on basic electrical principles does NOT mean they should be wiring up your new lights. Yet, many business owners take this approach to their marketing. They assume that because they understand the concept of marketing (i.e. taking their product or service to market) that they or someone on their staff who isn’t trained in that area should be able to do it and do it well.
You could very well have great ideas. You know your business better than anyone else, but does that mean that you are the right person to be executing them?
2. You / Your staff is needed IN your business.
As a small business owner, I can appreciate the need to work IN your business and ON your business. Let me clarify… working IN your business means you are providing the service or making the product, directing the operations of your organization, overseeing staff and clients/customers, making sure things get done, looking for new opportunities, taking care of the finances, etc. Working ON your business means refining the processes, developing leads and marketing it to make it more successful and develop more business.
Where are you most valuable? Where can you produce the most return? Is it by working with your employees and clients, refining what you do and developing new areas of business or is it working on developing leads and marketing your company?
3. You’re not able to really track the ROI of your efforts.
You’re going to networking events, you created a flyer for your special offer this month, you spend time on social media and try to keep your website update to date… but to what end? Are those efforts generating traffic, awareness, leads, and ultimately sales?
If you’re investing time or money – or both – you should be able to determine the results, the ROI. Was that event worth doing? Did that campaign work? What does the data produced by our Google Analytics report mean? Is our Facebook advertising generating traction? If you’re working IN your business and trying to do this, you’re not likely able to determine that.
Being an entrepreneur can be exhilarating and exhausting, often simultaneously. You’re faced with many tough decisions and often stretched thin. You don’t have to go it alone, though. Consider seeking some help from a marketing firm who can aid in your growth.