Step on One Tail

I was in Costco this past Sunday. And it got me thinking about how big companies don’t win because they are better. They win because they are good at executing ideas.

Did you know small businesses make up 99.9% of businesses in the US? Accounting for roughly $11-$13 trillion annually and about half of the GDP.

While small businesses power our local communities, they are massively underrepresented in the marketplace. Big companies dominate shelf space, ad spend and the algorithms.

Why?

It’s not just the money. It’s the execution.

Small business owners have ideas but they just get stuck on how to execute. They overthink, over complicate the process, feel overwhelmed and stop.

For the first time in history, marketing reach is less about money and more about the content, the consistency and showing up.

The platforms are free. The airwaves are free.

The question becomes… how will you use it?

I tell you this to say your business is important and it fuels our economy but most importantly you can compete with what you have, it isn’t rocket science.

I’ve spent my last 20+ years in marketing and PR. I first started with the Boys & Girls Club and then moved on to a marketing gig for a medicare advantage insurance company and then went on to co-owning Verizon franchises before starting my own agency which focused primarily on small businesses.

I’ve had a front row seat to what the ‘big companies’ have when it comes to their marketing strategies and campaigns. What they do well is consistency. Some campaigns go well, some campaigns don’t and they keep on cranking them out anyway.

One thing that all have in common is their well defined branding and messaging.

It’s very rare when I first start with new clients, that they even understand what a logo is or have ever heard of a ‘campaign’.

Most people mistake branding for marketing. Branding (although important) is not marketing.

Branding is how your company looks and feels. Marketing is what you do with it.

Here’s the secret recipe to marketing:

Ideas → Campaigns → Graphics → Visuals → Planning → Execution

This is the marketing cadence. Every big company and marketing agency abides by these steps.

The only real difference in marketing your small business vs the big guy is that the big companies have full time people dedicated to cranking out messaging and they have the money to spend.

I can feel your eyes rolling…. Hear me out before you the feelings of anxiety and overwhelm creep through your veins…

This is not complicated. This can be as simple as you make it. You just need an idea to start.

Take the $1.50 Costco hot dog + soda combo for example. This story just hit the news cycle again for good reason. The CEO reaffirmed that as long as he was in charge the $1.50 combo would stay. Because the point of the $1.50 hot dog and soda is not to make money or even break even… the point is to get bodies in the door.

It’s marketing genius at its finest. And one that keeps customers loyal. Why? Because they feel like someone, somewhere is looking out for their bottom line… trying to throw them a bone in this culture where the $18 cheeseburger is the norm. It evokes feelings of nostalgia for a simpler time.

Where else can I feed my family of 6 for under $10?

ZERO places.

But you know what? Only one of my kids ever chooses the hot dog combo… the others want a $3.99 chicken bake and a $.79 soda. Add in myself and my husband who usually split a chicken bake and then add a few sweets and treats for everyone… that $9 combo deal that feeds the whole family just jumped to $40 easy.

Customers are feeling the pinch of high prices everywhere… What can you do to connect with them? How can you get bodies through the door or clicks to your website?

There are small tangible steps that you can take today to get your messaging out that won’t break the bank and don’t take any special talent.

You just have to start.

Tip #1:

Get vulnerable.

This is the number one mistake I see most business owners make is that they want to hide behind closed doors. They struggle to find a ‘comfortable’ or ‘professional’ voice that fits their brand or business. And all too often, the one they approve for use comes from a hard sales mentality. (Think used car salesman.)

I’ve had numerous clients hire me to hone in on their brand voice and strategy but ultimately choose to overthink, over edit and play it ‘safe’ when it comes to their marketing and what story they tell.

In turn, their stories become watered down remnants of what they could be. They choose to manufacture inauthentic content and the results often fall flat.

The issue then becomes any time these clients do any type of marketing it feels inauthentic to the consumer. There is no real connection.

Here’s an idea… The first thing I do when I’m scoping out a company is check out their About Us page. Do you do that? I don’t know about you but I am super interested in who they are and what problem they are trying to solve. I want to know how they got to be peddling whatever wares they sell.

It makes me feel connected to them.

This is one of those critical steps that as a business owner you should definitely pay attention to. In a world where over saturation reigns it’s the small things that consumers are paying attention to.

Tell me the story. I know there is something that drove you to start this in the first place. Give me some humor! Look at Jesse, the Banana Ball guy. Could you have a better story? It’s fun and engaging and it makes me want to follow everything he does.

But more than that your story connects me to you, and your family. It makes me feel good about spending a few extra bucks.

Ask yourself today:

• Does your About Us section tell your story?

• Does the description of your business on all the platforms you use reflect this story and intention?

• What is your WHY?

Take a look at the voice you are projecting. Are you letting people SEE you?

• Idea prompts for a campaign this week:

  • I started this business because…

  • The problem I was trying to solve was…

  • Just a typical day here at the office (give me a picture or a video of where you are or what you are doing… not staged. A real picture)

Tip #2

Don’t overthink it.

If you are anything like me you can crank out about 10 new ideas a day. I heard Jerry Seinfeld once use the analogy that ideas are like rats scurrying past you… you just have to step on one tail.

Consumers aren’t looking for perfectly polished ideas, they are looking for the real YOU.

This is the single biggest thing that holds back all good ideas. The overthinking phase. “This is stupid.” “So and so is already doing this.” “I don’t want to look dumb.” “What if I lose money.”

So what starts as a good idea gets overthinked, edited, watered down and turns vanilla.

Boring.

You are a small business owner. And I know you are passionate about what you do. I also know you have ideas you are just too scared or feel too overwhelmed to throw them out into the world.

And if you legit don’t have any ideas? Ask a loyal customer, an employee, a spouse, kid, friend, neighbor… I’m sure they all have ideas for you.

The main thing here is…. Don’t be scared.

Take one of those ideas and put a sign in your window, make a post on social media, send an email, make a video… or if that’s too overwhelming and you don’t have an idea… let the 20 year old behind the counter get creative and do it for you.

What does Nike tell you to do? Right. Do that.

Today… Step on just one tail.

Tip #3

Use AI sparingly

Let’s go back to the feeling of ‘overwhelm’ as a business owner. I know if I hear one more time ‘I don’t know how you do it.’ I might scream.

Because I struggle to keep the balls in their air too. To be authentic and find my real voice.

And to make the TIME to do all the things required of me to keep things moving in the right direction.

It’s overwhelming.

So it’s easy to give in to the lure of AI. To get sucked into your buddy ChatGPT and all the ideas that dude comes up with at 4am when you are supposed to be sleeping. To generate content and images and graphics at the click of a button.

I am not here to tell you not to use AI. But if my 11 year old can look at a paragraph or a picture and instantly recognize it as ‘Totally AI’d’... so can your customer.

I’ve worked with several clients who rely heavily on AI. From content creation to emails to graphics to social posts and responding to DM’s on social media.

It’s very robotic. I can see it. The customers can see it.

The big companies are taking note. Just this weekend I saw ads for the brand Aerie and a campaign they are calling ‘100% Aerie Real.’ Maybe you’ve seen them… Pamela Anderson is the star. Their pledge is to not use AI generated images or use retouching of models in their images.

This is coming for you and your business. Stay real.

Here’s a test:

Go to a business social media page and look at their followers. You can get a good read on whether or not an account has a good engagement just by surfing their post views and comments.

One account that I follow has a following of about 12,000 on Facebook. To give you a reference point, a typical engagement range should be between about 60-130 engagements per post for content that’s not particularly great.

This account I am referencing is one that I know uses AI chat bots. Over time with the use of AI generated content and a hard sales approach to their brand voice this company consistently has an average 10-15 likes per post or .07% to .11% engagement.

What this tells me is that the content doesn’t hit right or isn’t even being shown.

Here’s the truth… consistency means nothing if the content is weak and there is no human connection. The algorithm will stop even showing your future posts.

Although AI is cheap and seems like the ‘answer’, the truth is everyone watching you can spot it and will not engage. That’s not my opinion. That’s what the data says.

Right now founders are being bombarded with the message that they must produce content or risk failure. But you know there is only so much time one person has in a day. And as an entrepreneur/business owner/founder, time is a non renewable resource. That’s usually why on any given day chasing tangible revenue streams overshadows the chore of producing content.

There is certainly truth to that so I understand the lure of using AI generated content.

DO use AI to:

• Generate ideas

• Brainstorm with

• Flush out content ideas

• Help figure out tech problems or logistics

DON’T use AI to:

• Generate generic content (we can see your emoji’s and long hyphens)

• Create images or videos (you’ve got a phone or hire a local photographer)

• Create your branding (yes we can tell)

• Cut and paste content directly into blogs or your website

Organic content will get you seen.

So just make it.

Tip #4

Information is Free

Pick a topic, any topic. Type it into your search engine.

See… everything there is free. The explanation, the images, the videos, the tutorials.

Just behind the problem of business owners getting vulnerable is this idea that they can’t give away too much. They intentionally keep their hand close to their chest. Because they believe if they give away too much information customers will go elsewhere or make their own product.

Young people already know information is free. It’s us 40+ year olds who struggle with the mindset that things must not be overshared. Information is private.

Newsflash… That overshare ship has already sailed. And if you aren’t on it yet it’s ok… there’s another boat leaving in 10 min.

Everything you do probably has some version of it already created, blogged about, videoed, podcasted, set to music and uploaded to YouTube.

And that’s ok. It shouldn’t stop you from showing people who you are and what you do. It’s ok to share all the things that make you and your company important and relevant.

If you are an expert at something don’t be afraid to share WHY. Share the things you are reading or thinking about or actually doing in your day to day that can show the world you are an expert and they should trust you.

If you keep all the information you know locked in the tower how will anyone know what you know?

Now I’m not saying you have to share your trade secrets or your secret recipe but don’t be afraid to give people enough information to understand why they should care about you and your company.

Show your customers a snippet of the behind the scenes. It’s marketing gold. It’s the POV they want and the kind of information that builds relatability and trust.

Share your expertise, your eye, your likes, your dislikes…

Don’t hold back showing who you are and what you do.

Now get out there. And step on a tail.

~ Christy