The best small business marketing is a complicated combination of advertising, communication, sales and relationships. The variations in marketing styles and execution are endless. Marketing can not be simplified into any sort of one-size-fits-all program or plan because every business is different and effective advertising & marketing techniques continually change.
There really are only three main marketing styles with everyone falling somewhere on the overall spectrum. Knowing where you stand on this marketing spectrum of best small business marketing styles can help you move forward and make a world of difference in sales. Let’s take a closer look at these marketing styles.
This-and-That Small Business Marketing Styles
If we think of the population of small business marketers on a continuum, the majority are in the This-And-That Marketing category. The unspoken mantra of this type of marketer is; “I’m not sure if this is working, but I’ll keep trying a bit of ‘this and that’ and hope you buy from me and I can stay in business.” This marketing style is all about not rocking the boat and marketing-by-numbers. Most small business marketers do what is expected and easy, covering the bases that everyone else covers – run some ads, have a decent sign, have a website, business cards, brochure, etc.
Hit-and-Run Small Business Marketing Styles
On the less ethical side of marketing, marketers become more self-centered with Hit-And-Run Marketing. This category of marketers base their business model on the premise that “I’m never going to see these people again so I will do everything I can to extract whatever money I can, now.” The customer almost always ends up feeling ripped off as there are no pricing or ethical guidelines. But, the businesses owner knows that repeat business is highly unlikely and negative reviews or bad word-of-mouth probably are not a factor for future “extractions”. A Hit-and-Run marketing style may be a very profitable (though, immoral) option.
On the extreme, the Hit-And-Run marketer is an outright thief or scammer. As the population of marketers increases on the spectrum towards more common marketers, you will find high pressure sales people or businesses ignorant of creating a positive relationship and just trying to “make the sale.” Not all marketers on this side of the spectrum are necessarily unethical. They may just follow a short-term and self-serving style of marketing their product or service.
Group-Hug: Best Small Business Marketing Style
Moving the other way from the mainstream marketing style is to have a more positive, relationship based approach, or Group Hug Marketing. These small business marketing styles are all about building communities and relationships. The mantra for Group-Hug Marketers is “invite people in, make them comfortable, and do everything possible to meet their needs”. It’s that easy… 1, 2, 3. Well, not exactly…
Looking at the graph of marketing relationships we can see that a transaction where both the small business marketer and consumer are winners is almost as infrequent as the lose-lose scenario of an imprisoned thief on the far end of the spectrum. But, on the path towards better marketing and sales relationships where everybody wins are the relationships where a small business gives up or wastes resources in their quest to “invite people in, make them comfortable and do anything they can to meet their needs”. This is the main reason so many businesses and marketers are comfortable in the murky middle of This & That Marketing – fear of wasted efforts and money in their quest for more customers and better relationships. Put simply, it’s hard to know what works.
Your Winning Marketing Style?
If you are reading this article chances are you are a This & That Marketer with a desire to move towards the more exclusive win/win Group Hug Marketing scenario. There are definitely ways to help build your customer relationships without breaking the bank. The foundation, of course, to building positive relationships is to listen, care and be genuinely interested in others needs. It doesn’t cost anything! However, without a strong interest and passion for what you do and sell, it won’t matter how much you market and advertise you won’t build win-win relationships.
Another essential factor in fearlessly moving your marketing efforts towards the Group-Hug category is to experiment with your advertising, and not be afraid to fail. Stick with marketing and advertising methods for which the effectiveness can be monitored. If something doesn’t work (given a reasonable test period), stop doing it! If it’s working, do more of it and continue to test. This seems obvious but remember, the majority of people are stuck in the This & That approach and not tracking results.
The number of on-line and off-line marketing options for small businesses can be quite overwhelming. But, it simply makes no sense to be spending any money on something that is not working (or you’re not sure is working). So, with a new year upon us let’s commit to getting back to the core of successful businesses everywhere – building sincere relationships, cleaning out the closet of questionable advertising and marketing practices, and moving fearlessly forward testing quantifiable marketing and advertising. That is the best small business marketing style and planning.
Jeff Nicholson is the founder and Creative Director at 
