Wasting Money on Marketing? (Here’s a Small Business Marketing Plan That Works)

Invest in marketing. That’s what you’re supposed to do to help secure your business’s future, right? Well, sort of.

Unfortunately, many small business owners “invest” in Facebook, Instagram, and Google ads, but end up with little to show for it other than a lighter wallet. As such, it’s no wonder many companies throw in the towel on marketing altogether… Thinking they’re better off throwing their money into a blackhole rather than spending another dollar on “ad spend.”

But here’s the deal. A proper marketing plan can work. In fact, once you have the right plan for your business in place, you can tailor the speed of your growth to fit your comfort level and goals. So, before you call marketing a total waste of time (or worse) know this…

Experimenting with different marketing tactics to increase sales is a good idea. But to get results, you need one thing in place. Use this masterkey and unleash the full potential of marketing for your small business. Ignore it and fail to see results.

Ready to learn more (and secure your business’s future with the right kind of marketing)? Just read on.

The Backbone of a Solid Marketing Plan

The truth of marketing failures is this.

Companies invest in short-term tactics (like running ads) but fail to first define an overall marketing strategy. This is not a good idea. Here’s why.

Running ads without a strategy is something like building a house without a blueprint. You can hammer all you want, but without your floor plan laid out, who knows what you’ll end up with. (And c’mon, who wants a roof where the floor’s supposed to be?) 

Here’s what a lack of a clear, focused marketing tactics plan cost your small business.

• Wasted Money: Spending money on ads is not the same thing as marketing. Without a clear strategy, you may be targeting the wrong audience, using the wrong messaging, or even showing up in the wrong places geographically. 
• Mixed Messaging: Without a clear brand voice or goal you may be confusing your audience and robbing your business of the opportunity to develop a recognizable voice in the crowd.
• Lower-Quality Ads: One of the most amazing things about digital advertising is the ability to use data for improving your ROI. But without proper audience targeting as a part of an overall strategy, those analytics are essentially useless.

Small Business Marketing Planning In A Nutshell

While a marketing strategy is fundamentally important to your success, that doesn’t mean it’s overly complicated to come up with. In fact, you can get started with simple questions like:

• What marketing tactics do you currently invest in?
• Who is your target audience? 
• What do they need from your product or service—how can you meet that need better than anyone else?
• What do you want people to know, feel, or do when they see your content?
• What marketing channels will you use to reach them?
• What results are you aiming for with your marketing plan?

Overarching questions like these will help a marketing professional come up with a strategy tailored to your business. Then, you can start to see results from all that ad spend.

The Promise of a Clear Marketing Strategy

With a proper marketing strategy—one with clear and consistent messaging—you can finally start attracting more qualified leads in a predictable way. Because having that plan in place means you’re now marketing with purpose. 

Now, while that alone can completely turn your marketing efforts around, there’s still one more thing to mention for the best results: marketing plans should be tailored specifically to your business. There’s no one-size-fits-all. 

If you’re wondering what an effective plan might look like for your business—how you can drive more sales and secure your business’s future—reach out to Integro Marketing today for a free consultation.

During your call, you’ll have the opportunity to share a bit about yourself and your marketing goals. Our team will take a look at what you’re already doing (if anything at all—we also love working with marketing beginners) and offer suggestions for taking your strategy to the next level… 

All absolutely free and with zero strings attached.

Give Integro Marketing a call today. We look forward to hearing from you and are ready to help propel your business into a brighter future. (Which sure beats wondering where your next leads are coming from, right?) So don’t wait.

Talk to a marketing expert today!