{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-articles-index-jsx","path":"/articles/brian-sutter-big-ideas-for-small-business-marketing/","result":{"data":{"props":{"adsense":true,"adsenseMobile":null,"byLine":null,"canonical":"https://staging.business.com/articles/brian-sutter-big-ideas-for-small-business-marketing/","content":"\n

There’s nothing small about a small business. If you run one, you know this. “Small” businesses - companies with 500 employees or less – employ nearly half the U.S. workforce. They create a third of U.S. exports. They’re responsible for the lion’s share of net new jobs.

\r\n

And yet, small businesses often neglect the very thing that would make them even bigger: marketing. In the WASP 2017 State of Small Business Report, we found that the smaller the company, the less budget they’ve probably allocated to promote themselves.

\r\n

\"\"

\r\n

Part of this may be simple budget constraints; part of it may be a lack of time -- but the result is the same: businesses suffer if they neglect their marketing.

\r\n

Fortunately, there may be a solution. Like most things in life, it helps to step back and get a larger perspective. Because marketing isn’t just marketing. Marketing – as in promoting your company – happens beyond ads, websites, social media or events. It happens via customer service, in how you run your workplace and in what your customers say about your business. And that’s just a partial list.

\r\n

If you’re running a small business, consider these three big ideas for your marketing in the upcoming year. They’ll make you see how your company promotes itself in an entirely new way. They might change how you see a few other departments, too.

\r\n

1. Customer service is marketing

\r\n

Is your business on social media? If you said “yes,” you’re probably there in part to offer customer service support via this channel. It’s something most customers expect now, and it’s become one of the primary activities of companies on social media.

\r\n

That’s one way marketing and customer service have blended, but it isn’t the only one. Remember online reviews? They’re critical to business success and can serve both as a way to attract people to your company or to repel people if your services are bad. When reviews are positive, they’re some of the best advertising you can get.

\r\n

Don’t forget word of mouth marketing, either. This works basically like online reviews, but it’s done offline, typically between people who know each other. Those word-of-mouth referrals are the most effective type of marketing, and they’re usually based on customer service experiences.

\r\n

\"\"

\r\n

I think many small companies already get that customer service is a type of marketing – and a very effective type of marketing, at that. It might be why “improve existing customer experience & retention” is the favorite tactic for raising revenue among small businesses.

\r\n

2. Recruiting is marketing

\r\n

What’s the #1 challenge for small businesses? Hiring new employees.

\r\n

 \"\"

\r\n

Given how big a deal this is, maybe it’s time for human resources to get some help, perhaps from the marketing department.

\r\n

Marketing, as you know, is about attraction -- attracting people to your products and services. Good marketing combined with a good work environment can be extremely effective at attracting prospective employees, especially if you create and share content about what it’s like to work at your business.

\r\n

It also helps if you showcase your employees in your marketing materials and make them visible to your customers.

\r\n

These tactics don’t just attract more employees; they attract better employees, too. If prospective employees can learn about your company and what it’s like to work there, they’ll be more likely to “self-select.” In other words, your marketing/ recruitment can help screen out people who wouldn’t fit in, long before they ever submit an application. This can have a powerful effect. It can deliver employees who are attuned to your company’s mindset from the beginning, making them more likely to stay with your firm and rise up through the ranks.

\r\n

As your employees are more successful and happy, they’re more likely to spread word that your company is a great place to work, thus attracting even more like-minded people.

\r\n

3. Every one of your employees is in marketing

\r\n

“The customer experience” is getting a lot of attention these days. We’re talking about the customer experience when we talk about marketing, customer service, even billing and fulfillment and everything else. Every customer-facing action is one piece of the customer experience.

\r\n

Your employees are the ambassadors of your company’s customer experience. Every phone call they answer, every appointment they make is a branding event for the customer. Every action should meet the customer’s expectations and hopefully exceed them.

\r\n

And all of this – every interaction – is a type of marketing. If an employee is talking to an existing customer, it’s retention marketing. If they’re talking to a prospect, it’s customer acquisition.

\r\n

Most small businesses already get this. In addition to all the “customer experience” management, small businesses are already recruiting every employee into some marketing work. Sometimes it’s writing a blog post or sharing on social media; or maybe it’s sharing their expertise for marketing materials.

\r\n

 \"\"

\r\n

Conclusion

\r\n

We know that small businesses (especially very small businesses) tend to underinvest in marketing. Interestingly, it’s also one of the things they’re least likely to outsource. This puts marketing in a squeeze. There’s not much budget and no time available for it, either.

\r\n

Perhaps, if we connected marketing more closely to the goal of improving existing customer experience and retention, then maybe it could get more budget; or maybe we just need to stretch the definition of what marketing is. Then small business owners might be more willing to invest in customer-service-as-marketing, recruitment-as-marketingn and employees-as-marketing-staff.

\r\n

If we can understand how marketing affects other departments, it might look like a better investment.

\r\n

Photo credit: Shutterstock / Have a nice day Photo

\r\n

 

\n","docType":"article","guid":"articles_73a37c735dd414f8d8b400027ac2c82c","lastModified":"2017-04-14T19:00:00.000Z","published":"2017-04-14T19:00:00.000Z","structuredData":null,"subtitle":"There’s nothing small about a small business.","template":"legacy","title":"3 Big Ideas for Small Business Marketing","type":"article","author":{"avatar":null,"bio":"Brian Sutter serves as Wasp Barcode Technologies’ director of marketing, where he sets the strategic direction and oversees the tactical execution of the company’s marketing programs. This diversified role encompasses all aspects of marketing for Wasp, including brand management, direct and channel marketing, online & digital marketing, public relations, and social media. Sutter joined Wasp in 2006, with a focus on web presence, product promotions, and brand awareness. During his tenure, Sutter has led Wasp through the launch of more than 20 new products, and he has been instrumental in securing various awards for the company, including the prestigious Inc. 500, Collin County 60, CRN 163 Emerging Tech Dynamos, CRN Channel Chief, ISTE Best in Show, and the Web Marketing Association.\r\n\r\nSutter is also a Small Business Marketing and Technology thought leader and contributes to a variety of publications including the Huffington Post, Washington Post, Entrepreneur, and Fast Company.","name":"Brian Sutter","image":null,"slug":null,"social":{"facebook":"https://www.facebook.com/waspbarcode","linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/smallbizbrian","twitter":"smallbizbrian","website":"http://www.waspbarcode.com"},"status":"enabled","title":null,"type":"Old BDC Member","user":{"imagePath":"https://staging.business.com/images/uploads/user/profile/7994dab3e2a2e3ae617cf536c8567e8d6352e.jpg","profile":{"company":"Wasp Barcode Technoloies","jobTitle":"","website":""}}},"breadcrumbs":null,"channels":{"primary":{"name":"Marketing","slug":"marketing"},"sub":{"name":"Marketing Strategy","slug":"marketing-strategy"}},"meta":{"robots":"index, follow","description":"Learn about 3 big ideas that will help small businesses with their marketing.","title":"3 Big Ideas for Small Business Marketing - business.com"},"parsedContent":{"toc":[{"id":"1-customer-service-is-marketing","title":"1. Customer service is marketing"},{"id":"2-recruiting-is-marketing","title":"2. Recruiting is marketing"},{"id":"3-every-one-of-your-employees-is-in-marketing","title":"3. Every one of your employees is in marketing"},{"id":"conclusion","title":"Conclusion"}],"json":[{"component":"p","children":["There’s nothing small about a small business. If you run one, you know this. “Small” businesses - companies with 500 employees or less – employ nearly ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/SB-FAQ-2016_WEB.pdf","rel":"nofollow"},"children":["half the U.S. workforce"]},". They create a third of U.S. exports. They’re responsible for the lion’s share of net new jobs."]},{"component":"p","children":["And yet, small businesses often neglect the very thing that would make them even bigger: marketing. In the ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://www.waspbarcode.com/small-business-report","target":"_blank","rel":"nofollow"},"children":["WASP 2017 State of Small Business Report"]},", we found that the smaller the company, the less budget they’ve probably allocated to promote themselves."]},{"component":"p","children":[{"component":"picture","props":{"className":"aligncenter med"},"children":[{"component":"source","props":{"srcSet":"/images/content/58e/994363087b1cd5bd928ea/742_-742- 742w, /images/content/58e/994363087b1cd5bd928ea/412_-412- 412w, /images/content/58e/994363087b1cd5bd928ea/206_-206- 206w","sizes":"(min-width: 870px) 412px, (min-width: 400px) 38vw, 62%"}},{"component":"img","props":{"src":"/images/content/58e/994363087b1cd5bd928ea/640-640-","alt":"","width":"640","height":"640","data-content-img-id":"58e994363087b1cd5bd928ea"}}]}]},{"component":"p","children":["Part of this may be simple budget constraints; part of it may be a lack of time -- but the result is the same: businesses suffer if they neglect their marketing."]},{"component":"p","children":["Fortunately, there may be a solution. Like most things in life, it helps to step back and get a larger perspective. Because marketing isn’t just marketing. Marketing – as in promoting your company – happens beyond ads, websites, social media or events. It happens via customer service, in how you run your workplace and in what your customers say about your business. And that’s just a partial list."]},{"component":"p","children":["If you’re running a small business, consider these three big ideas for your marketing in the upcoming year. They’ll make you see how your company promotes itself in an entirely new way. They might change how you see a few other departments, too."]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"1-customer-service-is-marketing"},"children":["1. Customer service is marketing"]},{"component":"p","children":["Is your business on social media? If you said “yes,” you’re probably there in part to offer customer service support via this channel. It’s something most customers expect now, and it’s become one of the primary activities of companies on social media."]},{"component":"p","children":["That’s one way marketing and customer service have blended, but it isn’t the only one. Remember online reviews? They’re critical to business success and can serve both as a way to attract people to your company or to repel people if your services are bad. When reviews are positive, they’re some of the best advertising you can get."]},{"component":"p","children":["Don’t forget word of mouth marketing, either. This works basically like online reviews, but it’s done offline, typically between people who know each other. Those word-of-mouth referrals are the most effective type of marketing, and they’re usually based on customer service experiences."]},{"component":"p","children":[{"component":"picture","props":{"className":"aligncenter med"},"children":[{"component":"source","props":{"srcSet":"/images/content/58e/994952f87b1f961d2d31b/742_-742- 742w, /images/content/58e/994952f87b1f961d2d31b/412_-412- 412w, /images/content/58e/994952f87b1f961d2d31b/206_-206- 206w","sizes":"(min-width: 870px) 412px, (min-width: 400px) 38vw, 62%"}},{"component":"img","props":{"src":"/images/content/58e/994952f87b1f961d2d31b/640-640-","alt":"","width":"640","height":"640","data-content-img-id":"58e994952f87b1f961d2d31b"}}]}]},{"component":"p","children":["I think many small companies already get that customer service is a type of marketing – and a very effective type of marketing, at that. It might be why “improve existing customer experience & retention” is the favorite tactic for raising revenue among small businesses."]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"2-recruiting-is-marketing"},"children":["2. Recruiting is marketing"]},{"component":"p","children":["What’s the #1 challenge for small businesses? Hiring new employees."]},{"component":"p","children":[" ",{"component":"picture","props":{"className":"aligncenter med"},"children":[{"component":"source","props":{"srcSet":"/images/content/58e/994b43187b1525baf0b7f/742_-742- 742w, /images/content/58e/994b43187b1525baf0b7f/412_-412- 412w, /images/content/58e/994b43187b1525baf0b7f/206_-206- 206w","sizes":"(min-width: 870px) 412px, (min-width: 400px) 38vw, 62%"}},{"component":"img","props":{"src":"/images/content/58e/994b43187b1525baf0b7f/640-640-","alt":"","width":"640","height":"640","data-content-img-id":"58e994b43187b1525baf0b7f"}}]}]},{"component":"p","children":["Given how big a deal this is, maybe it’s time for human resources to get some help, perhaps from the marketing department."]},{"component":"p","children":["Marketing, as you know, is about attraction -- attracting people to your products and services. Good marketing combined with a good work environment can be extremely effective at attracting prospective employees, especially if you create and share content about what it’s like to work at your business."]},{"component":"p","children":["It also helps if you showcase your employees in your marketing materials and make them visible to your customers."]},{"component":"p","children":["These tactics don’t just attract more employees; they attract better employees, too. If prospective employees can learn about your company and what it’s like to work there, they’ll be more likely to “self-select.” In other words, your marketing/ recruitment can help screen out people who wouldn’t fit in, long before they ever submit an application. This can have a powerful effect. It can deliver employees who are attuned to your company’s mindset from the beginning, making them more likely to stay with your firm and rise up through the ranks."]},{"component":"p","children":["As your employees are more successful and happy, they’re more likely to spread word that your company is a great place to work, thus attracting even more like-minded people."]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"3-every-one-of-your-employees-is-in-marketing"},"children":["3. Every one of your employees is in marketing"]},{"component":"p","children":["“The customer experience” is getting a lot of attention these days. We’re talking about the customer experience when we talk about marketing, customer service, even billing and fulfillment and everything else. Every customer-facing action is one piece of the customer experience."]},{"component":"p","children":["Your employees are the ambassadors of your company’s customer experience. Every phone call they answer, every appointment they make is a branding event for the customer. Every action should meet the customer’s expectations and hopefully exceed them."]},{"component":"p","children":["And all of this – every interaction – is a type of marketing. If an employee is talking to an existing customer, it’s retention marketing. If they’re talking to a prospect, it’s customer acquisition."]},{"component":"p","children":["Most small businesses already get this. In addition to all the “customer experience” management, small businesses are already recruiting every employee into some marketing work. Sometimes it’s writing a blog post or sharing on social media; or maybe it’s sharing their expertise for marketing materials."]},{"component":"p","children":[" ",{"component":"picture","props":{"className":"aligncenter med"},"children":[{"component":"source","props":{"srcSet":"/images/content/58e/994d23087b1e55bd928ee/742_-742- 742w, /images/content/58e/994d23087b1e55bd928ee/412_-412- 412w, /images/content/58e/994d23087b1e55bd928ee/206_-206- 206w","sizes":"(min-width: 870px) 412px, (min-width: 400px) 38vw, 62%"}},{"component":"img","props":{"src":"/images/content/58e/994d23087b1e55bd928ee/640-640-","alt":"","width":"640","height":"640","data-content-img-id":"58e994d23087b1e55bd928ee"}}]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"conclusion"},"children":["Conclusion"]},{"component":"p","children":["We know that small businesses (especially very small businesses) tend to underinvest in marketing. Interestingly, it’s also one of the things they’re least likely to outsource. This puts marketing in a squeeze. There’s not much budget and no time available for it, either."]},{"component":"p","children":["Perhaps, if we connected marketing more closely to the goal of improving existing customer experience and retention, then maybe it could get more budget; or maybe we just need to stretch the definition of what marketing is. Then small business owners might be more willing to invest in customer-service-as-marketing, recruitment-as-marketingn and employees-as-marketing-staff."]},{"component":"p","children":["If we can understand how marketing affects other departments, it might look like a better investment."]},{"component":"p","children":[{"component":"i","children":["Photo credit: Shutterstock / Have a nice day Photo"]}]},{"component":"p","children":[" "]}]},"resource":null,"sponsorship":null,"thumbnail":{"path":"https://staging.business.com/images/content/58f/0e7f03087b16d073c5ea7/1500-0-","caption":"","isBlurred":true},"bestPicks":null},"related":{"relatedArticles":[{"title":"3 Big Ideas for Small Business Marketing","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/brian-sutter-big-ideas-for-small-business-marketing/","slug":"brian-sutter-big-ideas-for-small-business-marketing","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/58f/0e7f03087b16d073c5ea7/1500-0-","dek":"There’s nothing small about a small business.","lastModified":"2017-04-14T19:00:00Z","published":"2017-04-14T19:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Your Guide to Creating a Small Business Marketing Plan","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/sample-marketing-plan-outline-and-template/","slug":"sample-marketing-plan-outline-and-template","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5f3/3e1765a215eb62d8b4567/1500-0-","dek":"Follow these templates and guidelines to get started on creating your business's marketing plan.","lastModified":"2020-08-12T12:28:00Z","published":"2018-03-02T13:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Back to Basics: 9 Offline Marketing Tactics That Still Work Today's Digital World","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/9-offline-marketing-tactics-that-still-work-todays-digital-world/","slug":"9-offline-marketing-tactics-that-still-work-todays-digital-world","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/channel/marketing.jpg","dek":"The explosion of digital marketing has opened up opportunities in offline channels that can mean major returns for your business.","lastModified":"2016-07-13T18:00:00Z","published":"2016-07-13T18:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"How to Reach Your Customers Through Data-Driven Marketing Campaigns","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/reaching-customers-through-data-driven-marketing/","slug":"reaching-customers-through-data-driven-marketing","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5b7/f3f3b92a3a446278b4571/1500-0-","dek":"Follow these steps to learn more about your customers and connect with them.","lastModified":"2018-08-23T07:00:00Z","published":"2018-08-23T07:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"Marketing Strategies and Technologies that You Should be Using for Your Business","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/marketing-strategies-and-technologies-that-you-should-be-using-for-your-business/","slug":"marketing-strategies-and-technologies-that-you-should-be-using-for-your-business","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5d1/130655a215ee06f8b4585/1500-0-","dek":"It doesn’t come off as a surprise that marketers find themselves overwhelmed because there are about a thousand companies that are trying to sell one type of marketing technology or another in about 40 categories.","lastModified":"2016-07-22T21:00:00Z","published":"2016-07-22T21:00:00Z","sponsored":false},{"title":"5 Ways to Leverage a Facebook Messenger Bot for Lead Generation","canonical":"https://www.business.com/articles/leverage-facebook-messenger-bot-for-lead-generation/","slug":"leverage-facebook-messenger-bot-for-lead-generation","thumbnail":"https://www.business.com/images/content/5e5/851e89c658aa9758b4577/1500-0-","dek":"If you haven't checked into a bot for your business, now is the ideal time. 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