Early Years-Starting The Business
We hear from a lot of clients who have grown their businesses over 2, 3, 5 years…maybe more, from the ground up. Some blue collar, some white collar, many competing against some of the common names that you hear when seeking out a product or service in their particular space.…the guys that you see advertising on tv, or on the radio. They’re generating consistent revenue, have hired employees and have delegated some responsibilities so they can focus on growing their business and do the things that the primary decision-makers have to do.
They’ve done a lot of the hard work to prove that their business WILL work. They’ve made the most of the resources they had, often taking whatever savings they had, roughed out a monthly budget and plunged into the unknown.
Over the course of that few years, there will likely be a mixture of wins and losses. Businesses will typically have their ups and downs, but at some point, the dust will settle a bit and there will be a moment to assess things and find the cracks in the business that are holding you back.
Sometimes it’s the wrong people in the wrong roles, or even the right person in the wrong role, or it could be that certain areas of business are burdening and undermining the beneficial areas of the business.
The Next Step-Business Change
This is often the moment in time, or a crossroads, to where a business makes the decision to continue doing things the way that they’ve always been done, long weeks – and weekends, at least occasional uncertainty – whether revenue, leads, or if they’re doing things right — or it’s a decision to level up, make changes, and get on an even plane–or even surpass–the old guard that’s been leading the way in your industry in your market. Or, maybe you’re the old guard and you’ve not fully adapted to new tactics and ways of maintaining or growing your business — staying relevant in the eyes of your target customer.
All due respect to the front desk folks who have been tasked with the role of “Social Media” or “Marketing” Manager, but the truth is that many of these people simply aren’t equipped with the overall knowledge, or in a lot of cases, the time to effectively execute efforts at a level that will significantly impact any business. Things change too quickly, you can’t read enough blogs.
The Solution
Many companies and brands start from square one, in the middle of a kitchen table, and find themselves a few years into business, in many cases, without establishing any real brand strategy. That’s where companies often turn to consultants like my company, Farmboy.
Pain Point Marketing
We’re huge believers in “Problem/Solution Marketing” – identifying customer needs and pain points, and then getting in front of those people with our client’s products or services, whether that be through ONLINE solutions like Search Engine Marketing (that’s getting you caught in things like Google & Bing searches – either organically or via paid tactics), Social Media, or Email Marketing, there are a bunch of others, or through some of the more traditional tactics like direct mail, television advertising or radio. We’ll create the funnel, drive customers, and then keep you in front of them.
Finding Your Value Proposition
We’re also big into challenging a company to identify WHO they are…some people call this the “why”, and what value they provide to their customers. What makes you different than your nearest competitors? How do you sound – friendly, knowledgeable? Does your stuff “sound” just like all of your competitors, does your website look (and smell) the same as theirs? Hopefully you’re not using the same stock photos. Let’s identify what makes you unique, and then start targeting the tribes of people, with messaging that means something to them.
From there, you can make things look great, craft effective messaging to engage customers and ultimately guide that customer through various digital tactics, through the sales process, and finally convert them to a customer – in many cases, lifetime customers.
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