Yesterday I was lucky enough to attend a seminar broadly based on the book “The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life” by Jeff Olston. I need to read the book to form a detailed opinion but the presenter, Lucy DelSarto raised some interesting points about wellness generally, and how the little things you do add up to success in Health, Relationships and Finances.
OK, what does that have to do with Marketing? Specifically small business marketing?
When you started your small business, figuring out the marketing piece was probably not your primary motivation for getting up in the morning! Most small business owners love what they do for their clients and that is where the passion lies. However whether you like it or not, marketing is a core business activity and it needs to work if you are going to consistently bring clients into your business.
So – where do you start? This is where a concept from yesterday’s seminar struck me and it’s this: Everything takes TIME. We live in a world where we want instant results, or at least fast results. Committing to a course of action is everything – measuring is important to determine where you are but the concept is:
PLANT then CULTIVATE then HARVEST
In other words, plant the seeds NOW (i.e. choose your marking tools and tactics in line with your strategy and implement them) and then commit to working the process. For example there is a lot of comment about Social media these days. By that I mean Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and so on. There is undoubtedly merit in these tools for many businesses but how often do you hear comments like:
“I’m on Facebook but it hasn’t brought me much” or “I have a LinkedIn profile but I don’t know what to do next”
Personally I have a lot of time for social media, but it isn’t necessarily right for everyone. The point applies to all marketing efforts though. Deciding to use the online tools is akin to deciding which crops to plant. Signing up is planting. If you just sit back and wait not much will happen – the harvest requires you to cultivate your chosen marketing tool and that means invest TIME in developing your presence. The harvest will follow but only if you have committed effort to this cultivation phase – it is critical.
Planning is the start. Before you plant anything (i.e. begin a marketing campaign/action) figure out who your target is and the best way to engage with them. Once you figure out a marketing tool (or tools) that will get to this audience, and you have defined your message – plant the seed and commit to the cultivation so you can benefit from the harvest.
A final thought in the form of a quotation from Diana Rankin: “It takes 20 years of hard work to become an overnight success”. Marketing success won’t take that long but starting, and then working hard at marketing your business is key to achieving success.
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1 Response
Jerry -
I’ve read The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen (a couple of times actually). Recommended read for anybody striving to achieve greater levels of success in any endeavor.
For me, the application of the lessons from a marketing perspective are unmistakeable. Successful small business marketers do what unsuccessful small business people do not. They’re in a habit of taking regular and consistent action because they understand it takes regular and consistent marketing effort to achieve results.
Where you’re at and what you’ve achieved is nothing more than a relfection of what you’ve done and what actions you’ve taken. But, it doesn’t necessarily relect where you’re going unless you make that choice.
Marketing doesn’t have to be hard, but it will take some effort on your part. The decisions you make today probably won’t mean complete success or total failure tomorrow. But, it’s the compounding effect of the decisions you make day in and day out that will determine which side of the slight edge you put yourself on.
If you’re in small business, start learning about marketing right now and apply what you learn on a regular and consistent basis.
Posted on March 31st, 2009 at 11:29 am
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