What To Do When Your Small Business Marketing Strategy Isn’t Working

By Hazel Burgess on 11.17.18   /   Internet Marketing, Small Business   /   Leave a comment

Your small business marketing strategy probably worked great last year. But, what about now?

When your blog post got a lot of shares and comments without you seemingly having to do much other than writing it. When posting a few articles on LinkedIn would inspire prospects to contact you.

If you have been implementing your digital marketing strategy for any length of time, you already know that what worked for you then, probably doesn’t work now. Even worse, I recently had small business owners tell me their current marketing strategy isn’t working. They could be listening to the wrong people and getting poor advice. Nonetheless, they can’t find marketing tactics that work to an acceptable degree of reach.

Marketing Tactics Worked Then But Doesn’t Work Now

Many businesses are posting more frequently on social media while getting less interaction. Not so long ago your monthly newsletter was enough to motivate customers to take action. Now, many businesses are sending first-rate content every week to remain relevant with their audience.

This is a challenge for small businesses with limited budgets and resources. For everyone else, in the long term it’s clearly unsustainable.

So what do you do? Why are your marketing tactics not working as well as they previously did? The clue to the answer lies in the question: it’s because they are tactics.

Marketing Tactics Evolve, Even If Strategy Remains The Same

Previously, a display ad in the Yellow Pages would generate more new client business than it cost. Today, in many countries, the printed version of the Yellow Pages no longer exists.

You’re probably laugh now at some of the unbalanced this we all did 15 years ago; terrible banner ads, suspect SEO practices, telesales, or sending too many emails. But the fact was some of those things worked for a while. Then they didn’t.

It’s the same today.

Now, as then, the world of marketing is experiencing an intense evolution. Things that worked three years ago won’t work as well today. But that’s a good thing because now there are new marketing tactics to deploy.

The Continuing Marketing Rejuvenation

Customer behavior does not stay the same, so neither can your marketing tactics. This is something to celebrate.

So, what do you do to reach those people looking to buy what you’re selling?

Firstly, stop looking for the magic marketing tactic.

Secondly, trying to circumvent the system has less chance of working now than ever before. If your customer acquisition process relies on message blasting on Instagram or fooling Google and Facebook algorithms, you’re headed for a downfall.

There is no magic marketing tactic. Just because your competition is trying something, doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. You don’t know what other tactics and straggles they have tied to their current implementation. The bottom line, as consumers, we all have a limited amount of time to devote our attention to something. As a result, we’re selective in what gets our attention and what doesn’t. As a marketer today, your job is not about winning your audiences’ attention; it’s about earning it.

Take TV ads for example. While watching your favorite TV show, it’s constantly interrupted with ad breaks. In previous times, you would sit through them, hoping to be returned to your show shortly. Nowadays, you either change the channel or start surfing your phones or tablets. We’re not giving advertisers the attention their business model has been based upon. Why? Because most marketing is still based on the presumption of having audience attention. That is no longer the case.

Authentic Marketing Strategies

The tactics or strategies needed to successfully market your business won’t be at a conference or in a book. What works today is transparent, authentic actions.

Effective marketing is not about being clever or winning awards. Tactics and channels may change and evolve, but ultimately, it’s still about appealing to basic human emotions.

Wrapping It Up

We know how discouraging it can be to spend hours implementing marketing tactics only to discover it wasn’t enough to move the needle. If your small business is struggling with your current marketing strategies, we would love to help. Give us a call at (858) 874-6528 or get in touch online.

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