The Wrong Approach to Marketing your Small Business Online

So you own your own business, or perhaps you are just starting one.

On the one hand, is your business, on the other, there is this thing called the internet.

But where do they merge and more importantly, why?

There are no doubt many benefits to marketing your business online.

The only problem is that the majority of it is designed to maximize their own sales and profits. Which ultimately has requirements of keeping business owners, like yourself, uneducated, in the dark, and in a place where they are unable to run their business as they desire.

Of course, many small businesses do have real and lasting success online. Which begs the question of why do they have success online?

In short, they have success online by not following the wrong approach to marketing their business online.

But, in my experience, answering this question of why them and not me usually starts by

• looking at what the successful companies do and use in comparison; branding and design, systems, tools, content, strategies, platforms, and everything in between.
• Then looking at all of the excellent benefits this is going to bring me and my business.
• And lastly, comparing options to decide which gives us the best return on our investment.

And all of these are really important and play a vital role in our success online.

But, what my experience working with small business owners tells me, in conjunction with what I see in the latest in digital marketing survey’s and trends, is that the majority of small business owners are still stuck in the dark when it comes to the why, the what, the where, and the how of marketing their small business online.

The great news is that it isn’t complicated, hard, or even expensive when you understand, know-how to do, and believe in what you are doing.

In a lot of ways, creating success online is exactly like being a successful, hardworking small business owner. It just takes some time and effort, with a genuine desire to help the people that live in the communities we all live in and love.

Which, obviously begs the question. If all of that is good and necessary for success, then why are small business owners still having so much trouble with their digital marketing efforts?

A lack of clarity and ability.

And that’s frustrating!

Furthermore, it has been my experience, that the tools, platforms, strategies, systems, and everything in between are not the culprit for this issue and neither are the people, consultants, agencies, freelancers, and everyone in between that are selling them.

So at this point, let’s just remove those other people from this article, since they play no role in the problem, they’ll play no part in the solution. In fact, this would also be their solution.

Let’s keep the tools, platforms, strategies, systems, and everything in between because those are what we need to use for marketing our businesses online.

What we’re left with are the benefits of marketing your small business online and the potential ROI of marketing your business online.

Decisions, decisions.

So what’s the problem?

If it’s not the internet or the tools, platforms, strategies, or the people selling them, and it’s not the reasons for why we’re using them, then what is the problem?

What is it, why are so many small business owners still not embracing the internet to its fullest potential?

Why are so many people, in general, still so wary about using the internet?

After all, consumers prefer to hire based on a referral from a friend, family, or even Facebook and online reviews.

Why don’t small business owners know what to do when it comes to the intersection of their business and the internet?

Drumroll, please

Well, I heard a saying quite some time ago, not sure where, but it’s served me right, and went something like this.

Control the controllable’s, forget the rest.

Now, out of the things, listed above, that are needed to be successful online, only one of them is controllable by a regular everyday small business owner.

So we could waste our time trying to control what we truly just can’t control, or we could just focus on what we can control. Which isn’t much anyway.

Let’s break it down a little further.

We just use the internet, I didn’t make it, doubt you did.

We just use the tools out there on the internet, like search engines and social media platforms. Thanks, guys!

Controlling a person is only possible so far as you truly have what they desire or are willing to force them – which is not the approach anyone should be taking. This most commonly takes shape in the marketing-form of scarcity.

Which means the reasons most small business owners are hanging up their hat when it comes to pursuing a continuous effort with internet marketing is the reasons for why they are doing it.

This is what I call the wrong approach to marketing a small business online.

What is the wrong approach to marketing small and local business online?

The wrong approach to digital marketing is one that is focused solely on all of the potential outcomes, like more leads and sales. The wrong approach isn’t focused on providing the most value to your customers or clients, it is focused on using the tools and platforms to exploit and sell products and services for as much profit as possible for as little work or continuous input as possible.

So, do some reflection on where your focus truly is.

Step outside of the mindset that says ‘every second of my day is so valuable that a person must give me something or I must benefit in some way for me to spare the time to help them in the way they need and on their time.’

After all, isn’t that what small business owners are known for? Serving and helping people!

As a business owner, and just as a person in general, we are going to always have to be putting out honest and ethical hard work to receive any type of real enjoyment.

Don’t look for the shortcut. Look for the most reliable route. The one that keeps everyone in the picture and not just ourselves. The one that solves all our problems!

Even if that means a little bit more time and effort. It will be worth it in the long run, we all know that.

Consistency is the key. However, there is, as usual, a little more to it. Which, I attempt to uncover in the article titled ‘The Secret to Building a Lasting and Bulletproof Online Presence for Your Small Business.’

So, if there is a wrong approach to marketing your business online, then, yes, there is a right approach to marketing your small business online. To read that article tap or click here.