
“I can’t afford that!”
How many times have you shaken your head after a small business owner declined what was, in your opinion, a very realistic and competitive quote for your services? How often have you removed essential security services from your quotes to accommodate the budget of a prospect? It likely happens fairly often. Marketing companies feel the same way when you believe that a $5000 service “should” cost $500. You end up with a bare-bones solution that removes everything you really need for effective marketing. It’s very important to note that bad marketing isn’t “better than nothing.” Bad marketing can destroy your business reputation. If you can’t afford to buy marketing support, it’s better to take some free marketing classes and learn the basics yourself. Remember, you likely hired your junior techs and trained them on how to troubleshoot networks. Marketing agencies hire people with no experience and teach them how to do marketing. You’re not any less capable of learning how to follow a basic marketing standard operating procedure.Where Do I Start?
- Step 1: Start with a Google search. There are dozens of free courses and classes available to you online. You can even search for terms that are very specific like “how do I build an email marketing campaign” or “how often should I post on social media.”
- Step 2: Talk to your peers. Most of them, when not competing with you, will be happy to share what they did that worked for them, and more importantly, what they did that doesn’t work for them.
- Step 3: Sign up for some email newsletters. Answer some cold sales calls when your phone rings. Figure out what looks good, and what sounds good. You’re also a small business owner, so what catches your attention? How did you choose your last vendor? What did you like about their process? You can use that to start building your approach to other small business owners.