As a small business owner, there are three givens. First is that it’s nearly impossible to be a full-time marketer and simultaneously run your business. Second and third are that it’s not likely you have a huge marketing budget, but you know that you need to consistently and positively get your name out there.
You’re well aware of the options for addressing these issues. You could hire a marketing consultant to handle it all. Of course, that’s not without risks. However, many small businesses outsource their marketing and end up saving tons of time while successfully growing their business, making the investment pay off in spades.
If you’re on the fence about whether you should hire a marketing consultant, here are three questions to ask yourself:
Where do my customers come from?
Why do customers choose my business?
How often do customers purchase my products or services?
Reverse Engineering the Customer Journey
That first question seems simple enough, but many small business owners don’t know where the majority of their customers come from, though they make educated guesses. Always ask customers how they came to find you because you will be surprised at the answers.
If you’re already running marketing campaigns, take a closer look at the analytics behind each marketing channel and narrow down your focus to the two or three strongest performers. You don’t need to be everywhere and everything to everybody. You just need to be present in the places where your target audience is most active and receptive to hearing from you.
The second question, “Why do customers choose my business?” can be answered with a variety of responses such as location, price, service, and your expertise. Again, don’t assume. Instead, ask and confirm. Based on customer feedback, you’ll be armed with insight on which features and benefits to highlight in your marketing campaigns.
For the third question, knowing the frequency at which customers buy your products, the answer comes down to volume and value. As you know, the higher the cost, the longer the marketing and sales cycle. The lower the cost, the shorter the sales cycle. However, lower costs are often equated with lower perceived value and also come with a higher customer churn rate. Keeping these factors top of mind will shape the tone, images and language you use in your marketing campaigns.
Applying the Insights
By getting the answers to these three critical questions, you’ve already done a lot of the heavy lifting for future marketing campaigns. Also, since you’ve reverse engineered the sales process, you have a proven path to success. This can save a lot of time when it comes to marketing your business.
The question remains – should you hire a marketing consultant?
The answer will become evident based on what drives customers to your door and inspires them to come back and refer their friends. For example, if your customers respond to social media and email and you don’t have the time or desire to master them, hire a marketing consultant to only focus on those areas. Or hire a consultant to teach you shortcuts.
If you’re still not sure what’s driving your success from a marketing perspective, it’s likely you’ll need to invest in marketing tools. Choose the marketing tools with the lowest cost, highest ROI and are easiest to use. Hands down, these are email, webinars and social media.
Ideally, look for an integrated solution that brings these tools together. It will save on having to buy and manage them separately and trying to make them work together with customer names, email addresses, online activity, etc.
Taking this a step further, there are also marketing templates that offer a step-by-step path to accelerate sales based on an analysis of how customers buy online. This one-two punch of a proven process combined with guidance on which marketing tools to use when makes it even easier to market to customers and grow your business.
Marketing consultants do add tremendous value and can jumpstart your campaigns. Armed with the right questions, marketing tools, and analysis of customer buying behavior, you now have all the info you need to move forward with more successful marketing campaigns, whether you decide to outsource or do it yourself.
