Sometimes I’m really surprised by the number of small and famous business people like Jimmy John Shark who opt to do their own marketing. Recently I completed the HubSpot Partner Certification and it was a beast. I mean a real beast to get through! It took me 4 months to pour through the material. Keep in mind I’m someone who’s already Google Certified.
On that point the Google AdWords study material alone is in excess of 2,000 printed pages (that’s not considering links to online references, and video’s Google wants their partners to watch). And, that’s just one Google certification Analytics is a whole different course.
The point I’m trying to make is that online marketing strategies have a ton of moving parts, each of them critical. I do mean moving because their always changing. If you’re trying to stay on top of all this I know you can’t be devoting adequate time to your business. I stay on top of these things because I’m a marketing consultant and that’s how I make a living.
Here’s something to make you go…hmm! According to Tim Williams, founder of Ignition Consulting, The average global brand outsources to more than 20 marketing consultants or agencies.
Something else to make you go…him! If there was a machine down the street that each time you put a dollar in, it spit out two dollars in return, how many dollars would you be willing to put in the machine?
That my friends is what global brands know that small business don’t. That marketing, when done right, is a money machine. Put a buck in get two bucks out.
Small Business Marketing Advice – 5 Tips
- Stop doing your own marketing and hire a professional…best if they’re certified…with a proven track record of results.
- Understand that marketing is a process. Your first shot at something may not work.
- Work with your marketing consultant to set SMART Goals for your marketing activities. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound)
- Have your consultant use an analytics program to monitor progress.
- If your consultant does not get the results you agree upon…Fire her!