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Biz expert: Doing good marketing beats knowing great marketing

Brad Sweezy
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In my line of work as a small-business marketing consultant, I come across many great businesses that are having trouble reaching the next level because they have hit a marketing wall.

The small-business marketing wall is not what you think it might be. Very often it is not because the business lacks a marketing idea. Many times, there are great marketing ideas.

So, what is the problem then?

It is a lack of time, energy and discipline to actually do the marketing consistently. Perhaps the author of the "Accidental Creative," Todd Henry, put it better: "Knowing does nothing for you — it's doing that matters."

I would adjust the quote to: "It's doing it consistently that matters."

It is kind of like trying to lose weight. If all you do is starve yourself when you are getting a bit heavy, before you know it, you will probably have gained the weight back and added some more. Losing weight and keeping it off involves a lifestyle change that adjusts what you consistently eat and how you exercise.

So, when it comes to your small-business marketing, you really need to have someone on your team who is able to hold the president or owner accountable for implementing a well-thought-out marketing plan or even a not-so-good marketing idea. If you don't have that, you probably aren't going to see the marketing plan succeed, because it is too easy to let it slide for the crisis of the day.

How do I know this? Because I am a small-business marketing consultant with clients who have paid for a marketing plan. Many of them pay for us to help them implement the plan. And my clients can tell you that unless they had someone like me "bugging" them or keeping them on track, they wouldn't do the consistent things that they need to do to keep in touch with their current clients and grow their businesses by getting new clients systematically.

Also, they could tell you that even with someone helping them, it still can be a struggle to devote the time and energy to get us what we need to implement the marketing plan. Fortunately, they do it.

Now, imagine if they didn't have someone like me around. How easy would it be to avoid sending out that post card, designing that ad, developing a newsletter, running an online marketing campaign, or social media campaign? It would be pretty easy.

How do I know? I have to do my own small-business marketing for my small business. And I don't always feel like doing it because I am too busy. I force myself, though, because I have to be able to walk the talk.

Brad Swezey is the president of JustSmallBiz Marketing, a company that focuses on helping small businesses grow through methodical marketing planning and results-based marketing implementation. He can be reached at or 321-684-5886.

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