3 Signs it’s Time to Change your Business’ Marketing Strategy
First, allow me to preface everything I’m about to say with this: when it comes to running a small business, I don’t believe in huge overhauls or 180° pivots.
In fact, I believe in making small, positive changes that breed big results. So, a $7,000 payment for a 6-month Mastermind? That might be for someone else, but not for me. But a relatively small investment in a course, digital download, or a meeting with a mentor who can teach me something invaluable?
Yeah, that’s up my alley.
So, when I say that this blog is covering three signs it’s time to change your marketing strategy, what I really mean to say is, “three signs it’s time to implement some new, small change that’ll help your business out in the long run.”
Am I risk averse? Maybe. But I’ll say one thing: running a risk averse business has gotten me fairly far, and I’m very happy with the way things are at the moment (tHanK YOU vErY MUCH).
Without further ado, let’s chat about three signs it may be time to change up your creative business’ marketing strategy. Then, I’ll share a fun list of (affordable and not huge) ways you can implement said changes, without feeling like you’re throwing caution to the wind.
3 Signs it’s Time to Switch Up Your Marketing Plan
You’re feeling listless.
You know the feeling. Everything’s going relatively well, but for some reason… you’re feeling the need to do more. That very same feeling is why you’re even here, running your own business in the first place, right?
Listlessness can be both a good and bad thing. Listlessness while running a sinking ship = probably a sign that things aren’t going super well.
But, listlessness while running a fairly healthy business? Yeah, you might be ready to branch out and expand your marketing strategy (and thus, your audience and sales capacity) even more.
2. You’re interested in adding or trying something new, but you have no idea how or where to start.
This one’s a little on the nose, but I had to call it out in case you’re feeling this very same way. If you’re ready to try some new things, but you don’t know where to start and you don’t want to drop, say, $5-7k on a huge marketing investment and overhaul quite yet, that doesn’t mean that the opportunity doors to a new and improved marketing strategy are closed. It just means that you need to approach those new strategies or ideas with a different plan.
3. The strategies you used previously are no longer breeding the same results.
And here’s where I put the obligatory “social media is no longer what it used to be, and is in fact rigged to work against you” diatribe that you’ve likely read 100 times. So, I’ll spare you that portion.
However, there comes a time where every single business owner takes a step back and thinks: I’m not quite sure why, but the strategies I was using last year and the year before, are no longer working for me now.
Does that mean you suddenly fell, bumped your head, and did something wrong? Absolutely not. Consumer tendencies change, as do marketing strategies. And sometimes, all you need to do is implement a small tweak or shift in a certain place, in order to get back on the right track.
A list of small changes that’ll have a huge impact
Consider this a list of ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Try them all, or try just one. Either way, just know that there are countless ways for you to implement impactful changes to your marketing strategy, without breaking the bank.
Do a quick search on Google and Pinterest for the subject or topic you’d like to learn more about, and read the free content, first. Take notes. You can learn a lot (and teach yourself even more) from the free blogs and resources that fellow creators share.
Look into purchasing a course (or even better, a mini course) or tutorial about the topic or specific marketing strategy you’d like to use. Set aside a couple of hours to take it, and implement it.
Not sure what it is exactly that you need to change? Consider booking a consulting call with a business owner you admire. Having a second set of eyes on your business can be invaluable, and they may be able to call out the next step you need to take.
Sick of content marketing, and ready to implement something completely new? Try cold pitching and emailing.
Already cold pitching, and not seeing results? Fine-tune your strategy with this. (So good, I had to link it twice)
If you prefer to learn and implement things on your own, do a quick search for “digital downloads for ______ (topic of interest).” I’ve experienced so much success from purchasing digital downloads from fellow creative entrepreneurs. Quite honestly, if you pick up just ONE idea or method from an entire download, it’s worth every penny.
Commit yourself to learning an entirely new platform by reading free content and tutorials from people you trust. Then, give yourself time to truly try it out, and see if it works for you. (I did this with Pinterest, and documented it all for you here)
Sometimes, it takes a big “aaaHA!” moment to help figure out what that next step might be. Start by circling back to your mission statement, and honing in on your “why.” If needed, simplify the home page of your site, and make sure to feature that new and improved copy. Then, move on to other pages of your site as you have time, all while making sure your copy reflects that of your updated one-liner/mission statement. Many times, you’ll get the most inspiration on what to do next, just by starting over.
Read Fix This Next, by Mike Michalowicz. Trust me.
And lastly, I want you to remember that small changes are still changes. They don’t count less because of their size - what matters is the impact they make on the overall health and success of your business.
Helpful Resources
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