Since I wrote an article on small business marketing, I decided to ask my friends to help me out with entrepreneurial photos to “decorate the post.” Have fun on this crowd-sourced post as you see some of my entrepreneur friends in action, starting above with Tracey Matney!
A few years ago, I interviewed a researcher in New York about the most significant marketing mega-trends. Chief on her list was that the most effective marketing was becoming “artisanal,” meaning that it had to be local, conversational, and connected to an individual or community.
I asked her, “How will giant brands like airlines and car companies survive in this environment?”
She thought for a long moment and said, “I don’t know.”
The future favors the small
I believe that small business owners (like rising star Valentina Escobar-Gonzalez) are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the marketing rebellion before us.
Here’s an interesting thing to consider. If you list every negative trend in the general marketing world, you’ll see why big businesses are hurting and small businesses are positioned to win:
- People are not seeing big-budget broadcast advertising. Ad-free subscription services like Spotify and Netflix dominate our attention.
- Major digital advertising programs are jeopardized by new privacy laws and moves by Google and others to end the use of cookies.
- Ruthless cheaters with unfettered access to our customers flood the market with cheap knock-offs, threatening the biggest companies and their hard-won national brands.
Now let’s look at some of the most important marketing trends driving success today:
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People don’t believe ads and company spin. They believe business owners, entrepreneurs, and technical experts (like Karima-Catherine Goundiam).
- Increasingly the personal brand Is the company brand as people seek an organic personal connection to the companies they love. You probably love and admire a business owner in your community. Who do you love at Verizon, for example?
- Big companies can’t plaster billboards around a city touting how involved they are in the community. We want people to show up. You can no longer just be “in” a city, you have to be “of” the city.
- Direct-to-consumer online models have disintermediated the advantage of shopping mall scale.
- Platforms like Shopify, Etsy, and eBay are opening up global commerce for even the smallest businesses.
This is why I’m so bullish on the potential for small business marketing success in this era. Every important business trend seems to be tipping their way, at least to those who really understand what’s going on in this dramatic Marketing Rebellion.
Small business on the rise
Kelly Baader shows us a path toward human-centered marketing.
A study found that more than $17 billion in consumer product goods (CPG) industry sales have shifted from large players to small ones since 2013!
Sales among “extra small” brands — those generating annual sales under $100 million — rose 4.9 percent, the fastest-growing CPG segment, according to market research firm IRI.
In contrast, large players saw their combined market share drop to 55.5 percent, from 57.7 percent, during the same period.
Let’s go back to that question I asked at the top of the post … “How will big brands survive in this consumer rebellion?”
The expert didn’t know at the time, but an answer is emerging. The big companies know they can’t adjust and are snapping up the smaller “artisanal brands” at a rapid rate. If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em.
A few examples:
- P&G snaps up small toothpaste company
- Coca Cola snaps us Texas “cult” favorite Topo Chico
- Campbell Soups buys California organic soup company to appeal to Millennials
Of course, this is also good news for small company founders who newly-minted millionaires!
The small business marketing formula
There are lots of ideas for small businesses in the Marketing Rebellion
1. The customer is the marketer
Two-thirds of our marketing is occurring without us.
How do we get invited into the online and offline stories being told by our best customers? How do we help them do their job? Make the customer the hero of your marketing.
How do we create something so unmissable, cool and conversational that people cannot wait to talk about us and carry the story forward?
2. Show up
People don’t want to see photos of your president handing a check to the United Way. They want to see you involved in the community.
Don’t just lend a hand. be the hand. This is hard for the big companies to pull off so get out there and show your community love. Show up where your customers want to find you. Let them see how you care.
3. Be the brand
For a small business, the founder is normally the face of the company. This is a huge advantage in this marketing environment.
Great branding means building an emotional connection between what you do and your customers. Increasingly, that is a person, not a coupon or a product attribute.
Jon Ferrara, pictured here, is a role model for this idea. Jon is so gracious, generous, and accessible, that you can’t help but love his company, Nimble, because you simply love him. In everything he does, Jon puts his family, customers, and employees before his own interests.
My book KNOWN
4. Engineer “peak moments”
Build exciting, unexpected delights into mundane customer interactions. When you give people something to talk about, they will.
Jessika Phillips — that’s her in the blue suit in the front — engineers peak moments into every customer engagement and event. Somehow she has made Lima, Ohio, the summertime epicenter of the social media marketing world through her fun and inspiring event.
She creates so much positive buzz that people can’t wait to attend or speak there. The customer is the marketer!
Think about how you can build peak moments into every customer touchpoint.
5. Bring people together
In the end, The Most Human Company Wins™
How does a small business do that?
By showing your face, your smile, your heart, and passion at every opportunity. One of the best ways to do this is to bring people together. Celebrate something. Teach something. Connect people and let them see how amazing you and your employees are!
Julia Bramble, shown here, is becoming an evangelist for helping people “belong” as part of a marketing strategy. Obviously I agree with her. I think it is one of the most powerful things we can do!
There has probably been no better time in the history of the world to start a business. Small business marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Just focus on one thing: Be the most human company in your niche.
Make sense?
That is the end of my post. But let’s keep going with my cool entrepreneurial friend photos. Every one of them is trying to make a dent in the world!
Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant. The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.
