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What is your definition of success in your business?
Financial performance has been ingrained in our culture as a key marker of success, often used as the standard for measuring or comparing our own business achievements. And while the bottom line in your business is important to some extent – it’s not everything.
Let’s explore some alternative success metrics that might inspire you and influence how you craft and grow your business moving forward.
Business growth beyond the bottom line
Growth is often referred to as an indicator of success; a way to gauge how your company is doing and to predict long-term sustainability.
For those of us who live in the solo, micro, or small business worlds though, the bottom line doesn't continually go up – nor should that be an expectation!
Instead, it's more important to find and embrace practices that align with and are suited to our values.
3 ways to challenge "best practices" in your marketing
I love doing things my own way. It’s why I tend to push back on the Black Friday madness, encourage challenging the status quo in business (as long as it’s in good faith), and have spoken out about some of the most popular entrepreneurial book recommendations.
Just because a particular activity or approach is considered a “best practice” by many doesn’t mean it’s the best practice for your business. Let’s deconstruct some common marketing narratives and explore alternatives.
Connect your goals to an action plan that will guide you to success
When I talk to clients about their goals, one of the missing pieces tends to be an action plan. They have their vision, but what’s unclear is how they’re going to (realistically) get there with their current resources.
An action plan breaks down each goal you have into parts, taking you step-by-step closer to meeting the goal.
Let’s explore this with a basic example of some short-term goals that are connected, with moving parts.
4 ways to streamline your discovery call process and optimize lead quality
Streamlining your processes as a business owner is an important part of building a sustainable business. One way to do so is by implementing an onboarding sequence that allows you to filter out potential clients who aren't a good fit before you start working with them; optimizing your customer journey and saving you time on discovery calls.
Here are a few ways to weed out clients who aren’t right for your business offerings.
Consistency in marketing: your key to success or the reason you’re falling short?
Consistent marketing is often promoted by marketers as your key to building audience trust, increasing customer loyalty, and improving sales numbers. But what does being consistent actually mean?
The best way to uphold a sense of marketing consistency for your business is to be intentional with the schedule you set out for yourself, and what you hope to achieve through these efforts. Let’s further explore what this means, and how to apply this concept in your own business.
Expand your marketing message with collaboration: A quick start guide
One of the most effective ways to reach potential customers is through the art of collaboration – and yes, it’s an art! When you’re intentional in your collaboration efforts and in supporting other businesses, you gain access to new audiences who are primed to opt-in to what you’re offering.
And, when you open up your own platforms to aligned business owners and creators, you’re able to build trust and provide additional value to your audience, making it more likely they’ll want to support you. Here are a few ways to expand your marketing message and reach more people.
Expand your business marketing efforts beyond social media
You can’t solely rely on social media to market and grow your business. You aren’t in control of the platforms and they can go away or change, at any time, for any reason, without any warning, and with zero recourse.
So, let's talk about some additional strategies you can implement into your business in an effort to diversify your marketing efforts beyond social media, your website, and/or email marketing. And as a bonus? You have greater control over how these initiatives work for your business.
3 qualities that matter more than perfection in marketing content
Building a brand and business takes time. Not everyone has a well-formed vision of what their business should look like from day one, let alone how to execute on that vision.
But really, that’s not such a bad thing! It gives you room for growth and improvement over time, which your audience will likely notice and appreciate. Here’s what matters more than everything looking and sounding perfect: authenticity, expertise, and repetition.
How to address the biggest marketing challenges for small business owners
Most small businesses don’t have the time, money, or expertise they need to make decisions about marketing. So where does that leave you? While this analysis might sound bleak, there are ways to make marketing work for you, as long as you’re willing to prioritize strategy.
Let’s review some of the common marketing barriers small business owners are facing and look at potential solutions.
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