Most small businesses don’t have the time, money, or expertise they need to make decisions about marketing. So where does that leave you? While this analysis might sound bleak, there are ways to make marketing work for you, as long as you’re willing to prioritize strategy.
Let’s review some of the common marketing barriers small business owners are facing and look at potential solutions.
Read MoreEvery now and then, I have people who want to share various different business ideas with me to see what I think about them. Inevitably, my strategist's brain starts whirring with questions. Most importantly: why and so what?
In my experience, business owners and leaders often have great affinity for their work. It's understandable when they've put so much effort and thought into building a business around an idea. And in many ways that confidence is great! The work is borne out of passion, beliefs, and values they hold dear.
The challenge comes when you become so attached or immersed in what you've created (or plan to create) that you can't see the flaws anymore.
Here’s how to make more objective decisions around the products and offers you release.
Read MoreEarlier this year, my son decided he was going to teach me how to play chess, and despite my initial disinterest, he not only managed to successfully persuade and teach me, but I even almost won a game against him...once!
As green as I am on the chess board, I have a deep appreciation for the time players spend learning various tactics, as well as the skilled practice of thinking through and playing out different scenarios. Thinking strategically in marketing and business is a lot like a chess game, which is why chess is so often used to visually convey strategy.
Let’s explore the parallels between chess and business and marketing.
Read MoreWhen creating a successful marketing plan, it’s important to incorporate both strategy and tactics. Rather than opposing one another, the strategy informs the tactical choices. Anyone who tries to separate the strategic from the tactical is missing the big picture.
Read MoreMarketing is one of the most important strategic functions of any business. When it's treated as a check box exercise, it's ineffective and it reinforces the too-often low value that is put on the work.
No business is immune to this mindset—it happens in large and small businesses.
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