Do You Really Need Marketing For Your Business?

The short answer to the question, “do you really need marketing in your business?” is it depends. I know that’s a non-answer, answer. But it’s true! It all boils down to…what are your goals? Depending on your goals is going to depend on if you need marketing or not. This guide is going to walk you through if you really need marketing to reach those business goals.

Let’s Start From the Top – What is Marketing?

The term marketing get’s lumped into many different categories that can be confusing. So, let’ dive a bit into what marketing actually is to see if your business really needs it!

The basic definition of marketing is: the activity or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.

You might find that you’re already marketing without realizing it! Marketing encompasses so much of the awareness around your business – even putting out signs outside your store saying your open is a form of marketing!

Marketing is nothing to be afraid of and with a clear marketing plan, the sky is the limit with increasing revenue, driving more customers to your store, harnessing the power of repeat customers, and so much more!

Here are Some Benefits of Implementing a Custom Marketing Strategy: 

Before we dive into creating a custom marketing strategy for your business and what that process looks like, let’s first talk about what a marketing strategy is and why it’s so important. (Here is a little hint: It doesn’t have to be complicated to be successful!)

Marketing Strategy: is a business’s overall game plan to facilitate the buying and selling of its products or services. A marketing strategy determines how to reach prospective consumers and turn them into customers – but more importantly, repeat customers.

Marketing strategies start with the most important element – your business goals! Without clear goals, there’s no way to create a marketing strategy that’s effective. It’s like throwing darts at a wall and hoping you hit an invisible bullseye. Your goals will be the main driver for creating a successful marketing strategy.

It All Starts With a Dream

Your goals are also an indicator of if you need additional marketing in the first place. For example, if you have more customers than you know what to do with, are happy with your current revenue and employee count, and don’t want to grow in the next 2-5 years. Then you don’t necessarily need marketing! That’s just the truth. What you’re doing through word of mouth, referrals, door traffic, etc. are working well.

There is a note of caution when it comes to not actively marketing your business: This is the only time in this post that I’ll sound a little “doom and gloom” but if, for any reason, the economy takes a hit, your industry starts to drop off, or you’re noticing less traffic or a decrease in revenue (for any reason) then starting to market your business at that point will be like trying to get ahead of a freight train going 100mph. It’s a steep uphill battle.

How To Tell You Need Marketing

We’re a firm believer that most businesses need marketing. Again, the only reason you don’t need marketing is if you’re happy with your business’s current state and don’t want to increase revenue, customers, etc.

I get it. We’re a marketing firm, suggesting that you get marketing. But it’s more than that. We truly care about you and your business because of how you care for your customers. Small businesses are the heart of communities, and we recognize that and want to support those businesses to the best of our ability! We hope you see these tips as true honest-to-goodness business-saving tips!

When it comes to knowing if you need marketing or not, here are some key indicators that you can look out for in your business and know to give us (or any well-researched and trusted marketing firm a call):

• You’re starting to notice less customers walk in the door
• You realize you’re leaving money on the table by not tapping into social media or e-commerce sales
• You have goals that aren’t being met by your current marketing strategy
• You find yourself pulling your hair out at the end of the day because you’re wearing 15 different hats, and they all need something from you at the same time (yeah, marketing can help with that)
• You hear your customers say things like, “Oh, I had no idea about your business,” or they say, “So what is it that you do?”
• You notice that customers only come by once, and then you never hear from them again

These are all key indicators that you need marketing—why? because marketing can help in all these areas.

Marketing Tactics To Keep In Mind

The world of marketing is vast and wide and good marketers will come up with brilliant new ideas to keep your business top of mind. Check out this list of marketing tactics to keep in mind to implement when it comes to building a marketing strategy for your business:

Website

Your website is your brand’s online voice. it’s your tiny corner of the internet where you can help people in only the way that you do. 76% of your customers will look you up online before they even step foot in your physical store. That’s a pretty big indicator that your online presence needs to be professional, tell your brand story, and solve your customer’s problems within the first 15 seconds. That might sound daunting, but we do it every day, so it’s not that scary to us!

SEO

With your website comes SEO – or Search Engine Optimization. It’s just a fancy term for Google ranking your site higher than your competitors and, at the basics of it all, will bring more customers to your door instead! SEO can be defined into two categories – on-page SEO and off-page SEO. We won’t get technical here, but everything you do online will make a big difference with SEO and how to keep you top of mind for those 76% of people who will look you up online before ever walking into your store.

Social Media

Social media is more than just taking selfies and posting memes! It can be a very powerful tool to connect with your audience and share more about your store in a really tangible way. You get to share the day-to-day and behind-the-scenes stuff that your customers can connect with and get to know you better. This ultimately allows them to trust you and want to support your business! What’s not to love about that?

The key is a solid social media content strategy that gives you structure and allows you to drop the overwhelm when it comes to consistent and regular posting.

Logo + Branding

Your logo and branding should speak for itself so you don’t have to! Think about it: what does your logo say about your store? Has it been a while since you’ve rebranded, or do you not currently have brand cohesion? That might tell customers you’re dated or unorganized without saying a word! You might be the most professional, organized store in your state, but customers will make snap judgments without even realizing it. Having a logo and brand that tells your story will serve you for years to come.

Newsletter

A newsletter is a way to stay top of mind and share your best content with people who sign up! Newsletter subscribers are well into your marketing funnel and likely have a sense of trust for your business. They want to hear the latest and greatest from you. We recommend sending out a minimum of one newsletter per month in order to stay top of mind for those that are further along in the funnel.

A fun fact is that each newsletter subscriber is worth $10-$20 and should bring in that number yearly. So, for example, you have 4500 subscribers and you send out one newsletter per month, that’s approximately $45,000 a year that your newsletter should bring in alone! Talk about marketing paying for itself.

Paid Ads

Ads are another powerful tool for reaching your ideal audience, who may not even know you exist. Some paid ads to look into are Google PPC, Instagram and Facebook ads, Nextdoor ads, newspaper or radio ads—the list could go on. Choosing the right ads for your business depends on your goals and where your audience likes to hang out.

Photography + Videography

Talk about storytelling with photography and videography. You know the quote, “A picture is worth a thousand words?” Good photography should tell the story of you and your business without ever saying a word. If you have the right photography that tells the right story, it’ll be one of the first things your customer looks at and will keep your customer on your website and social channels.

Like photography, videography lets you tell your story in your own words. Guess what? That’s what your customers want to hear the most! For them to know, like, and trust your business, a part of that is getting to know, like, and trust YOU!

Public Relations

This part of marketing boils down to getting your name out there and screaming it (politely) from the rooftops. Earned media, or earned content, is any material written about you or your business that you haven’t purchased or created yourself. Typically this type of media is published by a third party (like newspaper or radio), but there are many creative ways that marketers position their clients for earned media opportunities.

Mojo’s Bare Bones Marketing Suggestions – Take it or Leave it!

We wouldn’t be doing out job if we didn’t steer you in the right direction when it comes to setting up a marketing strategy for your business. At the minimum, we recommend the following for your business (no matter the industry):

Website

With so many people looking to order online now-a-days, without a website, you’re leaving money on the table. Your website should pay for itself within a matter of weeks or months when done correctly (and sprinkle a little SEO on that, too).

Logo + Branding

With a website you need consistent branding that supports in telling your story. Not only that, but every newsletter, flyer, social media post, etc. that you send out that has this branding silently communicates to your audience that you are serious about business, know what you’re doing, and care about the little things.

Social Media Strategy

Whether you hop on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or any other social platform (stick with 2-3), be sure that you’re targeting your ideal audience and showing up where your audience most hangs out. Then, tell your story. Share deals or discounts infrequently, but build a connection with your following, and the increase in revenue will come!

That’s a Wrap!

Well, folks, as we wrap up this conversation about whether you should jump on the marketing bandwagon or not, just know that you’re likely already marketing without even realizing it, and it might do you some good to put pen to paper and leverage this powerful tool in a way that best serves your business.

If you have any questions, just know that we’re here for you every step of the way and are rooting for you and your business because you are the change makers of our community!

Before joining Mountain Mojo, Ashlee was a freelance designer, collaborating closely with Flagstaff’s local businesses to craft logos and branding materials. She has a deep love for the Flagstaff community and takes joy in partnering with local businesses to watch them grow and flourish.