There are approximately 2.14 billion people who conduct their shopping online. According to Statista, these numbers are expected to increase by 50 percent in the coming years. As a business owner, numbers such as these are something to be very mindful of.

Despite these impressive numbers, not every business has an effective online presence.

Most businesspeople from both small and mid-sized businesses don’t realize the importance of marketing. In this world of information, they are still lagging behind in understanding that marketing is an investment and not an expense.

As such, marketing should be the main defense of an organization. In this battlefield of business where your opponent can strike from any direction, you need to have an artillery overlooking 360 degrees. Artillery has traditionally been used in the battlefield to support the infantry march ahead. In the same context, in the frontline of business, marketing works as artillery allowing salespeople to move ahead and close the deals by providing them support through leads.

Should the business owners stop turning a blind eye to the following areas, their business would begin to look up.

1. Marketing Budget

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” - Peter Drucker

Many business owners treat marketing as an expense and not as an investment. They oftentimes do not allocate a budget or appoint any marketing manager who can guide them. Well, why appoint a marketing manager when there is no budget for them to play the game with?

Another oversight is not even thinking of interacting with any marketing agency that can guide and give them direction, which is important in sustaining a business.

2. Marketing is not Selling

“The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous.” – Peter Drucker

When most business owners think of marketing their products or services, they fail sooner than later given that they begin to compare marketing to selling.

A lot of them don’t understand the difference and consider sales and marketing to be one and the same thing.

Sales is finding customers and selling what you have, whereas marketing is about engaging your target audience through communication, understanding their unfulfilled needs, and offering value in terms of products and services.

For that reason, they expect the results too soon from marketing, as if it were selling. As a result, they get disappointed too soon and stop their marketing activities immediately, never to get back to it.

This, in turn, leads to the winding up of the artillery (marketing) that actually helps their sales team with lead generation.

3. Move Ahead with Time

"Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with your marketing." -- Mike Volpe

Social media is the name of the game; content marketing is king, and if you have no consistent marketing in place, you’re not going to win the game. But who will bell the cat and explain this to them?

Most businesspeople with this mindset stick to their traditional methods of selling and don’t upgrade their thinking or get creative at all, let alone switch to marketing. They have already prepared a long list of no-ways and refuse to understand that the global economy is getting smaller - thanks to the internet, and competition is fiercer. But they still wish to stay sales-oriented.

Their attitude of not helping the salespeople with lead generation through marketing continues to affect their bottom line.

4. Understand the Importance of Building Relationships Through Marketing

“Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.” – Andrew Davis

Oftentimes, a number of business owners fail to understand the importance of nurturing relationships through effective marketing and consequently, count only on salespeople to meet their numbers.

No wonder more and more organizations without marketing are feeling this pinch and losing business.

To compete successfully in a global market, it is important to connect with your customers and let them know that you are listening to their concerns and needs and providing solutions.

5. Embrace AI and Technology

“The real opportunity is using AI to augment your business operations, making them more efficient and effective.” - Sundar Pichai

In today's digital age, ignoring the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and modern technology can be detrimental to your business. AI can streamline operations, provide valuable insights through data analysis, and improve customer experiences through personalization.

Many business owners are hesitant to adopt AI, fearing it's too complex or irrelevant to their business model. However, AI tools can handle repetitive tasks, freeing up time for strategic thinking and creative problem-solving. By not incorporating AI into your operations, you may be missing out on significant efficiencies and opportunities for growth.

Suggestions:

The best way to kick start your marketing is to decide that come what may, you’re going to get involved in marketing activities consistently. So here is a great way to begin:

To achieve this goal, I suggest that every time you make a sale or receive a check, transfer 5% of this amount automatically to a separate account. This account should be set aside and dedicated to marketing alone. In other words, this amount is not for buying new furniture or for paying the office rent.

Soon you will realize that you have saved plenty of money for marketing. As you begin to invest, you would enter into a growth cycle; meaning, as your business begins to multiply, more money will come in, and as a result, the 5% allotted will automatically grow to serve bigger budget marketing strategies.

Eventually, you will agree on how valuable marketing is for your business and probably regret not taking this action sooner.

Conclusion:

As a business owner, should you wish to enhance your existing marketing, please get in touch with me at dd@deepakdhiman.biz

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