What exactly is marketing?
Ah, the mysteries and misunderstandings of marketing! Is it advertising? Social media? Your website? Is it merchandising? Branding? Customer service? The answer is, “Yes!” Marketing is the amalgamation of all the techniques you use to get people in the door, provide them with a great experience and, of course, get them to come back.
Marketing is about making your business unforgettable. In a world of ordinary, creative marketing is the launching pad for exceptional. It gets people talking about you. It makes them curious. It engages them. It’s your hook to pull people into the world you’ve created.
Here’s a very cool example of being unforgettable. A restaurant owner put a sign out each day on one of his tables that said, “Reserved for the President of the U.S.” When he would greet a group waiting to be seated he’d take them to that table and say, “Sit here. What the heck. He’s not coming today.” How much fun did he create for his guests with that simple and silly gesture? Talk about customer experience!
In a world where we look at marketing as an expensive and expansive discipline, we forget that it’s the small, interesting, funny, unexpected and clever things we can do daily that add up to our ultimate success.
Marketing is about building a community. People get great satisfaction in discovering something new and wonderful. They take ownership of their find and, without even being asked, try to steer others to enjoy it as well. As your business’ Chief Marketing Officer, you have the opportunity to bring together like-minded people who love and appreciate what you do.
Marketing is about delivering the right message, to the right people at the right time. Let me repeat that. Marketing is about delivering the right message to the right people at the right time.
Think about it. We receive tens of thousands of messages daily via TV, radio, newspapers and social media. It’s a bit overwhelming to think our job as small business owners is to penetrate that big wall of noise and have our message break through. As impossible as it seems, it can be done.
One of the best examples of delivering the right message to the right people at the right time that I can offer is a simple one. I live in an urban area with doggie waste bag dispensers on almost every corner to insure you have what you need to keep the city clean. A very clever dog walking service simply taped their sign, “Need a dog walker? Contact us.” to dispensers around the city. Fancy? Not so much. Clever? Without a doubt. They got their message out to exactly the right people at exactly the time they might be considering hiring a dog walker. I use this as an example to show how marketing your business can be truly effective, measurable and either cheap or free!
Marketing is about understanding the value of a loyal customer
We love to see new faces walk into our doors! After all, that’s why we’re in business. But creating a complete and seamless customer experience - and selling more to the people who already know and love your brand – is high on the priority list.
Marketing is not a luxury for small retailers
Every business, regardless of size, must build an effective marketing program. No excuses. No delays. If you don’t, you’ll be forced to compete on a pure price play. And that strategy, for a small business, is almost always a losing proposition.