Have you ever wondered how to start marketing your business?

Maybe your business is new.

Or, perhaps you’ve had a steady stream of clients up until now and haven’t had to worry about marketing.

Either way, working out where to start with your marketing is often the hardest part.

However, I believe the easiest way to get started with marketing your small business is to:

1. Remove any marketing roadblocks you may have
2. Educate yourself on how to market your business
3. Research what others in your market are doing
4. Reach out to others to get the support you need
5. Take action and test your marketing before scaling it

You may not realise it, but you may have one or more marketing roadblocks that are impacting on your ability to get started.

These marketing roadblocks could include that you:

• Don’t have the skills and experience to know what to do yet
• Are trying to do too much and are now stuck in overwhelm
• Haven’t set your marketing objectives and lack direction
• Don’t have enough clarity on your target market
• Are allowing your perfectionism to get in the way

In the post below, I outline how you can overcome these roadblocks, and provide strategies and tips on how to start marketing your business when you’re not sure where to begin.

Not sure where to start when it comes to marketing your service-based small business? That’s where I can help. Get started by downloading my free Ultimate Marketing Checklist by clicking the button below: 

Initially, you may not know what to do

If you’ve never marketed a business before, then you won’t have developed your marketing skills and experience yet.

Some of the challenges you may have include not understanding the marketing terminology or how to set up and use the technology and systems.

Also, it can become quite frustrating when you feel like your marketing is just not working.

So, how do you overcome this and start marketing your business?

Well, one of the best things you can invest in at this point is some marketing education.

Find a short course to go to or attend some marketing training to up-skill in the areas that you need to.

There are also many marketing books and blogs that you can read to educate yourself.

You can also enrol in the online training offered by many of the marketing technology companies. Most of these are free. However, you will have to invest the time in learning how to use these marketing tools and systems.

Once you have the information and education you need to market your small business successfully, your frustration will ease, and you’ll make much more progress.

If you’re trying to do too much, then you’ll get stuck in overwhelm

Another reason why you may be unsure how to start marketing your business is that you’re trying to do too many things all at once.

You may have downloaded every freebie or online lead magnet you could find in the hope that one of them had the answers.

Or maybe you’re subscribed to the email list of every marketing guru out there.

Alternatively, you could be trying to learn about every marketing tool and system that’s available, and it’s just too much information to get your head around.

Whatever you’re doing, it’s likely your actions which are causing the overwhelm in the first place.

If you’re spinning around in circles and not sure how to get started with your marketing, then my advice would be:

1. Reduce the noise – unsubscribe from all the email lists you’re on, and only keep following 2 – 3 experts at a maximum.

2. Get laser-focused – write a list of everything you’re trying to do to market your business, and then circle the top three priorities on that list. Only focus on these activities. When we focus on fewer things and the right things, we’re much more productive.

3. Ask for support – you don’t need to be the guru of everything in your business. Take a step back and think about what you could outsource or the type of support you need.

4. Stay in your lane – instead of trying to look externally at what everyone else is doing, look inside your own business to determine how you should be promoting and marketing it.

It’s essential to set your marketing objectives and goals

If you don’t know what you want to achieve or where you want to go with your business, then it’s challenging to get started with your marketing.

To overcome this roadblock, start by determining what you are trying to achieve with your marketing.

For example, do you want to increase awareness because no one knows who you are?

Or, do you want to generate more engagement with potential clients, so you have a chance to offer them your services and have a sales conversation?

Alternatively, are you trying to generate more website traffic, to generate leads and convert sales?

Whatever you’re trying to do, once you’ve identified it, you can work backwards and create a plan for how you’re going to achieve it.

For example, if you’re trying to increase your awareness, then you need to focus on marketing activities that increase your visibility.

If you’re trying to increase your engagement with potential clients, then you need to network and attend more marketing events where your target market will be.

Alternatively, if you’re trying to grow your website traffic, then you could consider SEO or paid advertising to increase the number of visitors to your site.

Consider whether you have enough clarity around your target market

A lack of clarity is another reason why you may not know how to start marketing your business.

Let me ask you… are you clear on:

• Who your target market is,
• What pain points and problems they have,
• What solutions they’re looking for, and
• How to reach them with a clear marketing message?

If you can find the clarity you need to answer these questions above, then it will be far easier to start marketing your small business.

If you are missing this clarity, start by studying your competition, as well as defining and researching your target market.

Go deeper than just profiling who they are, and research what your target market’s wants, needs, desires, and fears are when it comes to your services.

Once you are clear on what your target market needs from you and your business, think about how you can design your service offerings to solve their most significant pain points or problems.

If you can solve their pain points, then it will become so much easier to sell your services.

Not sure where to start when it comes to marketing your service-based small business? That’s where I can help. Get started by downloading my free Ultimate Marketing Checklist by clicking the button below: 

Now that you have your strategy sorted determine ways in which you can increase your visibility in front of your target market?

Where do they hang out? Where could you go to meet and engage with them?

It may be both online and offline where you can reach your target market, so be sure to include multiple ways to stand out in the eyes of your target market.

Finally, develop a strong message that communicates what you do, whom you do it for, and why you are better or different to your competition.

Take note of the competitor and target market research you completed and try to use the words and language that they used in your marketing materials to resonate strongly.

Your perfectionism may be getting in the way of you marketing your business

Lastly, perfectionism is a significant roadblock for some business owners that stops them from getting started with marketing their small business.

Ask yourself if you’re ‘waiting’ for something to be the right time or if you haven’t launched something is it because it’s not quite ready?

It’s highly likely that these are signs that your perfectionism is getting in the way and that you’re fearing failure or something going wrong.

There’s a saying that ‘done is better than perfect’. And this is so accurate when it comes to getting started with marketing your small business.

When you’re first starting, you won’t have the knowledge or what’s going to work best or what your audience will most likely engage with.

However, unless you put it out there, you are never going to know!

So, if you’re holding back, then recognise this and determine how you’re going to gather the courage to put yourself out there.

It’s for the benefit of your clients and your business to give marketing a go and just get started.

Tired of trying to figure out what you’re missing when it comes to finding clients and making sales in your service business?

Break through the barriers that are holding you back with the support of an MBA-qualified Marketing Coach and Business Mentor who will tailor a 1:1 program specifically for you.

BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH is a 3 or 6-month 1:1 Coaching Program for service-based business owners who want to develop the strategy, systems, and structure they need to find clients and make sales, so they can stop feeling stuck and start gaining massive momentum in their business.

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