Resolution, clarity, and focus. Three words we ruminate on around the start of a new year. This is usually the time when we add “look at budget,” and “get on those plans!” to the to-do lists. Unfortunately, these items came from last year’s list because you don’t know how to tackle them. So, you ignore the problem again and let the other noise dampen these thoughts. It’s time to find resolutions at your crossroad.
Aducate helps business owners who find themselves at this crossroad
You might find yourself at this point if you had some immediate success but hit a plateau. Maybe the pandemic shifted your vision for the last two years and you had to quickly adapt to survive. In a weird way that helped your business because you had to pare down.
Now, the world is collectively working through the hangover. Your adrenaline is gone, and you lack clarity. Where you are now is not where you planned, but it’s not all that bad either. You don’t have the time to examine how things shifted – you just know they have.
Ignoring this might have worked in the past, but now it’s stifling your growth. You don’t have the money to hire talent, and you already feel like a chicken with your head cut off. How can you possibly take on more?
Most likely, you are bloated. Your sales funnel processes take longer than necessary. You’re spending money without a clear understanding of the ROI.
You feel this in your gut, but you can’t pinpoint the problem. So, you blame your lack of an online presence. “If people just knew about us, it would all be fine!”
Low “like-count” on social media is a symptom, not the disease.
Standing outside a 7/11 with flyers in your hand shouting about your company will get at least one or two hits. But how much time did you waste doing that? How much money did you waste printing that flyer that will get tossed? How do you know if those hits were interested or just being polite?
This is the fire hose approach to marketing. Pay-per-click ads are like this flyer approach. It has a short shelf life, and you’re shouting it at people who don’t want to hear it.
This quick-fix approach is appealing to you, and marketing agencies know that. They recommend these solutions because it’s an easy upsell. They know you haven’t taken the time to understand your business, so they string you along.
Telling you to post more on social or write a blog is not the right cure if you can’t quickly estimate:
- How many touchpoints you need to convert a client
- The percentage of prospect-to-client conversions
- A clear picture of your target audience
Marketing agencies aren’t going to take the time to help you figure that out. We do.
Laser-Focus & Account-Based
When you understand your brand, you will have a higher rate of conversion. You understand your target audience because you know their goals, passions, and struggles. And, when you can articulate your value, they’ll see you as the solution. With this approach, you focus on more qualified leads and ignore the gunk.
This is a laser-focus account-based marketing. This approach prioritizes quality over quantity. Unlike the wide-net pay-per-click method, you create content worth sharing.
The other plus: this content has a long shelf life. It will live on your website forever, requiring little upkeep with high yield reward. But it does require a strong foundation.
The disease is when you don’t understand your brand
Creating quality content worth sharing is accomplished when you understand your brand. This is Aducate’s value add to small businesses. It’s what makes us different than most marketing agencies. We hear common sentiments from small business owners:
“I started this company because I liked doing x. But now I spend so much time doing y…which I don’t really want to do. If I can stop doing y, then I can finally get back to what I enjoyed with x. I have no clue how to get there and I am too deep in.”
This usually tells us that they are persistent, competent…and overwhelmed. Their ability to problem-solve bit them in the butt because they’ve taken on way more than they ever wanted. The curse here is they’re too good at everything so it’s hard to let go of that control.
The goal is to know your processes well enough to say, “it takes me an average of 5 meetings before I win the contract.” Then we can say, “let’s get that down to 3, and here’s how marketing will support this goal.”
Find the appropriate cure, and the likes will follow.
Aducate Digital helps business owners zoom out and recommit to “your why.” What got you excited to go into this venture? What was the greatest accomplishment in the last 18 months and why do you think that worked?
Then, we examine your sales funnel and business development processes. We listen to your goals. We help you articulate your vision. And we streamline the processes through the lens of brand awareness.
When you strengthen these processes you can regain control, clarity, and focus. Marketing is there to amplify your greatness, but it needs to start with a solid brand. As small businesses owners, your success came from your relationships with your clients. People chose to work with your business because of the feeling you gave them.
These relationships took time to develop. As you scale, you don’t have that time to devote to every single lead. Marketing is there to tell the rest of the world you’re great while weeding out the dead ends. If you can’t concisely articulate why you’re great, this larger audience will be unsure too.
The Crossroad
Growth means you’ve won the first round. If you’re resisting, you’ve hit a plateau. Our advice: get out of your own way to grow. Rather than trying “to get back to x,” you need to accept your success and allow yourself to scale.
Aducate Digital first helps you streamline the sales funnel. Then, we effectively communicate your brand. Quality content ties directly to your bottom line.
Ready to clearly see which path to take for sustainable growth?
We’re glad you called.
