Everything is Marketing

People will often tell you that "marketing is everything." And it's true. The success of your business relies on how well you market your product or service. But what many people, especially small business owners, fail to realize is that while marketing is everything, everything is marketing!

As a small business, everything you do has an impact on your marketing message and ability to get that message out clearly. This includes how (or whether) you answer your phones, how you reply to email messages, what you say in online forums, the comments you make in blogs the speed of your computers, the presentation of your website, and potentially even the car that you drive.

What are you saying about your business?

We often have business website owners come to us to have us perform search engine marketing but some of the more basic marketing components are simply not in place or poorly implemented. To understand what I mean, let me ask you a few questions: Would you trust a mechanic with a poorly tuned vehicle? A lawyer who drives a 1995 beat up Honda? A landscaper with a lawn overgrown with weeds? I think you get my point. These things have nothing to do with "the business" but still play a role in the overall marketing of who you are and what you do.

When building a business, it's the little things that matter most. People come to us because they want us to "increase sales" for their business. That's great and we can certainly play our role. But when the owner comes back to complain that "this SEO stuff doesn't work" we have to wonder if perhaps its something else. After all, if we can verify that more (targeted) traffic is being delivered to his site, then there is a strong possibility that something else is in play here.

Take control of the little things

As an SEO company we try to help our clients with the little things right along with the "bigger" aspect of getting top rankings. We'll help them improve their website in every way imaginable, but there are still areas that we have absolutely control over... how well they provide customer service.

This is probably the easiest of all problems to fix yet often the most overlooked. Recently I asked a client if they were willing to exchange services for some of their products. I sent an email to the two owners of the company. They also happen to be the only two working in the company. Both great guys but my email went unanswered for about a week. Finally, when I got a response I emailed back letting them know what I needed. They never got back to me after that. So I conveniently bought what I needed from someone else.

This client lost out on a potential sale because they didn't follow up. How hard is it to respond to an email? Before spending a bunch of money on marketing strategies, it's best to review the free marketing strategies you have at your disposal. Everything is marketing! Whatever you do, and how you do it makes an impact on your business.