When business is good, it’s easy to let your own marketing efforts slip. After all, you’re making plenty of money right now – what could go wrong?
As we all know, plenty of things could go wrong. Your largest client’s budget could shrink, or your point person with a major customer could find another job. There are plenty of things out of your control that could cause your company to slow down.
And that’s why your own marketing efforts should always be a priority, even if things are going great. If we’re honest with ourselves, we know it’s not possible to always have a booming business. Just like the economy has fluctuations, so too does a company.
Why Your Marketing Matters
If you listen to small business experts, you’ll hear a variation of this message over and over and over again:
Your company’s marketing is still important when times are good, because at some point you’ll need new leads. If you have marketing efforts already in place, you’ll hardly skip a beat. If you don’t, your company will hurt.
Ed Gandia, author of The Wealthy Freelancer, often touts this message and also highlights the importance marketing plays in being successful.
When marketing mentor Ilise Benun asked him what it took to be a wealthy freelancer, Gandia responded, “You have to become really good at marketing your services. If you want to be truly successful, you should be just as good at marketing your services as you are in your own craft.”
While Gandia’s core audience is mostly comprised of one-man shops, the principle still applies to larger businesses. If you, as the company owner, don’t market your own product or service, you’re going to have a hard time sustaining a successful business.
Protecting Your Business
Besides ensuring that you maintain steady revenue, always making your marketing a priority will help you when you decide it’s time to exit your business.
Whether you’re selling your business or passing on the ownership role to a family member, your company is more likely to succeed if you have been consistently marketing it. Regular marketing provides a solid foundation and can help your successors protect your business’ legacy.
Marketing Action Items
Here are a few tips on how you can keep your marketing fresh and useful:
- Set aside 1-2 hours this week and review all of your marketing materials. This includes your website, ads you’ve run, printed collateral you hand out to prospective clients – everything. As you review your materials, be creative and think outside of the box.
- Talk to your existing clients to find out which marketing materials you used were effective.
- Prioritize the materials and messages that need to be updated.
- Delegate and set deadlines for the updates/editing to the appropriate parties within your organization.
Your company evolves every day. Make sure your marketing keeps up!
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