So often in smaller businesses, the focus in on ‘doing’ the business and any marketing activities have been selected more on the basis that they seemed like a good idea at the time rather than because of any strategic reasons. It’s not uncommon to see different versions of logos being used, old brochures handed out with new look business cards and a website leading the way with great content that’s not consistent with the messages the sales guys are spouting in business development.
That’s not to say that these companies don’t have some solid foundations in place and there’s usually lots of great ideas flying around. The challenge is joining up the dots and making sure that there’s a consistent selection process in place for marketing.
Joining up the dots is becoming ever more difficult. The multitude of different online marketing options available has helped add confusion. The lure of free and easily accessible online channels means it’s easy to get sucked into the thrill of Twittering or counting fans on Facebook without giving any thought to whether that is relevant to your clients or is linked to the rest of your marketing activity.
Take a big step back and look at what’s going on. Who’s your marketing decision maker or do you have lots of mini marketing managers across the company? Are the clients you’re speaking to offline the same as the ones you want to talk to online? Are you measuring the results of what you’re spending your money on? Is your brand identity consistent at all times?
Ask yourselves some tough questions and you’ll soon start seeing which marketing dots you need to join up.
