This is a big one and maybe one some of you don’t want to hear.
The single most important step towards taking your marketing efforts, and business, to the next level is deciding that you actually want to do it… and trying harder to make it happen.
This may sound simple but many operators I speak to who do their own marketing (as well as business development, delivering tours, organising staff and many other hats) don’t really set any goals or make a commitment to continuous improvement. They also say “I have no time’.
Stop making excuses. Stop blaming budget, timescale, lack of help or anything else that deflects from what is really going on… the will to do it. No one really has the resources to do it all so get over it and focus on what needs to be done. As a species, we procrastinate far too often when we are forced to do things we don’t necessarily like.
The beauty of digital marketing is you can do so much for little budget so that is one excuse out the window. What you need is imagination, planning and goal setting.
Set yourself higher standards and decide how good you want your marketing to be. What are your ambitions? Look at competitors’ marketing for a comparison and decide how you can do it better. Decide to do whatever it takes to get there and don’t let any lame excuse get in the way.
Although I have a team at TMA, you may be surprised to hear I do a hell of a lot in the same amount of hours in the day as you have. For example I…
Manage two businesses, manage a team, drive sales, manage sales enquiries, write content (No one ghost writes for me!), record videos/podcasts, edit the videos/podcasts, upload the videos/podcasts, speak at online and offline events, travel to events, accounts, business development, answer emails, take calls, design brand logos, help create marketing strategies for clients, help my team in brainstorming sessions, manage and interact in Facebook groups, consultations, day-to-day meetings… and a few more things I have probably missed. I do all this 4 days a week. I take a Friday off and never work weekends (that is family time!).
So, when I hear people say they have no time, when you actually take stock of what you do on a daily basis, you probably have more time that you realise.
Structure your day in such a way that you focus on specific tasks each hour. Spend an hour in the morning on email. The next on sales enquiries. The next on business development. The next on a marketing strategy. Lunch. Then the last few hours on your customers/clients and customer care. There is no set agenda, but set one that works for you.
When you do, you will find you have more time to market and develop your business and I guarantee you, you will see the fruits of this when your revenue increases.
So please take my advice… try harder.
