Do You Market Your Small Business Like an Ant or Grasshopper? Being the Grasshopper is Bad

Business owners contact me because they want to grow their business, they want to attract new customers and they want to separate their business from the competition. They aren't as successful as they want to be, and as marketing/design specialist I need to find out why.

During a sit down meeting I'll eventually ask her/him, "What is your current marketing strategy, and what are you doing to outreach and attract new customers?" But in my mind I am asking, "Are you an ant or a grasshopper?"
uVme - Don't miss this! A Great opportunity

More often than not, business owners that are as sharp as tacks get this curious, glazed-over expression on their face. After a about 5-10 seconds of uncomfortable silence they say with a sheepish look on their face, "We'll right now we're just relying on word of mouth advertising and referrals to sustain our business".
Free First Consultation Get legal advice from experienced business lawyer.

I shudder when a client tells me this. I think to myself, "Yep, I am talking to a grasshopper". Let's break down what the client said here - what he/she truly meant by "…we're relying just on…":

· We don't have a marketing strategy, or at least a consistent one
What is Carbon Copy Pro Turn-key biz. No Calls. No selling. Realistic 250K first year.

· We don't have any outreach programs or ways to attract new customers

· We are confused or apprehensive about marketing and promoting our business

· We are putting the company's success and growth in the hands and mouths of our customers (who aren't being paid)

· We need help badly

Top10 business. Find The Top 10 Most Reviewed Sites For Starting Your Own Business

Is your business heavily reliant on getting referrals to survive? Does that scare you a little bit?

Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper, and how the grasshopper assumed the weather would always be good so he didn't look to gather food for when times got tough? When it comes to gaining market share and growing their customer base, a lot of businesses are like the grasshopper - they have no plan, and they just assume and hope things will be okay. Well, if you've every read or heard the story, the weather does turn bad on the grasshopper, winter comes early, and he starves. Not a good ending for the grasshopper or your business.

Now the ant, he had a different approach. The ant knew that sooner or later his food (or customers and referrals in our example) would run out. It was essential to continue to add to his stores for when times got tough. The ant had a plan to get more of what he needed, and he executed his well-designed growth strategy over a long period of time. The ant would have made a good businessperson, not only would he have survived he would have been very successful.

Are you running your business more like the grasshopper or the ant?

Business owners always hope to grow their business, attract new and better customers and separate from the competition. Hope is great, you need hope - but you need more than hope, you need a strategy and you need to be consistently working at it (just like the ant). No one plans to fail, they just fail to plan - the grasshopper failed to plan.

So what can you do to be like the ant?

Start by shifting your thinking. The key to attracting more customers and separating your business from the competition is through marketing, advertising and design. The more you can do this, generally the more customers you can attract. The more customers you attract the more money you can make. Are you following me?

The hidden power behind them is through consistency. Marketing, advertising and design are not expenses. If you see them as such, you're sunk. Rather, these are golden opportunities for you to catapult your business above the rest of the competition that are "relying just on word of mouth". Like the ant, successful businesses are consistently developing new outreach programs to find new customers and to continue to sell to the customers they already have. People that are succeeding in business understand how marketing and design are integral aspects to their business on a daily basis. Coke gets this, so does McDonald's, Trader Joe's, Arizona Tea and even Poore Brothers Inc. snack chips.

I know what your thinking, "I don't have millions of dollars to invest in marketing and advertising", that's okay, I can show you strategies that will work that fit your budget. What's important is that you recognize that relying on hope and others isn't where you want to be. Are you as successful as you'd like to be in business, do you worry sometimes that referrals might not cut it anymore? If so read the, "What you should do next" section below. If not, consider yourself lucky that your referrals and hope is holding out - for now.

What you should do next:

· Decide if you enjoy having your business' success based on the hope that others will market and promote for you

· Shift your thinking. If you invest in one marketing and design project a year, do you think you'll get better results than if you build a strategy that spreads your marketing campaign throughout the year?

· Get a plan. Work with an expert that can analyze where you are now, and come up with recommendations on how you can get from operating your business like a grasshopper to ant as quickly as possible. Work with business savvy designers who are experts in marketing, and ask them to provide you with some initial ideas on what to do. My door is always open and I'd be glad to give you some suggestions.

· Get excited! Making the decision to invest in the health and success of your business through marketing, advertising and design will provide you with peace of mind knowing that that business' success isn't based on the hope that the weather will remain good.

About Jeremy:

I help small businesses build more confidence and credibility into their business brand. Through marketing and design initiatives; I help you feel better about your company. Making you feel good about your business gives you more confidence and less anxiety when you are networking, promoting or selling your business. If your business needs the reliability and talent of an in-house marketing and design department but doesn't want additional employees, salaries and benefits, give me a call at 480.391.0704 - I have a new approach for you.

If you are looking for more free insight and inspiration, you'll want to get in on the "Can-Do Confidence Builder". Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your investment and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition. Email me at comments@candographics.com and asked to be added to our list.