Many people are not actually doing the marketing they think they are! Why?

Because you can't market your business without a marketing plan.

When you try to market without an organized plan for spreading your business name, you end up not actually marketing at all. Instead of sending out information to spread the news about the business, it becomes throwing things at a wall to see what is going to stick. 

And don’t get me wrong, it’s important to put things out there!

But without a marketing strategy, it becomes a “I want to get in front of a wealthy audience, they’ll be at this event so I’ll sponsor that!” Without anything to measure exactly how successful that marketing was, or to bring those leads into the business.

One of the most important things about marketing is being able to adjust.

If marketing is being thrown out at random and without measurable markers, adjustment is impossible. 

Here’s why it’s important to have a solid marketing plan:

Many business owners never grow their business beyond a self-owned job, which sucks!

When business owners get stuck in a self-owned job, they never get to the point where they can let go of the reins and actually relax, since a self-owned job means that money isn’t coming in unless you’re working. This is where marketing comes into play: growing a business (beyond that self-owned job) requires smart, effective marketing. Because smart, effective marketing spreads the business name and brings in business that one individual couldn’t because there are only so many hours in a day. 

Instead of throwing marketing at a wall, take time to create a plan.

Take time to sit down and (at the very least) create an organized, step by step, marketing plan. Something that lets you know exactly what you’re doing and how it’s working together, and how you’re going to measure what is doing its job and what you don’t need to spend money on.

I know, you’re thinking “But Steph, it’s small business!”

Trust me, I understand. Yes, the plan is going to change. It’s just how small businesses work. That’s the adjustment I was talking about earlier. It’s ok to change your plan! It’s ok for it to change as you go along, the important part is to keep working on the plan and adjusting.

In fact, it’s good to change your plan! I actually recommend small businesses do a CMO meeting every single month. But...

The important thing? Get a marketing plan started if you want to grow your business!

Not sure where to start building your marketing plan? Get a free sample marketing plan here so you can make sure you’re hitting ALL the pieces that need to be in your plan for success! 

About the Author:

Stephanie Scheller is a TED speaker, a two-time best-selling author and the founder of Grow Disrupt. In just under a decade, Stephanie has been behind the scenes with nearly 2500 small businesses. She has worked in groups and one-on-one to create total business transformation & help business owners live the life they got into business to create!