Why Marketing Consistency Matters

Discussing marketing consistency and strategy

In business, there isn’t any advice we could offer that would discourage being consistent. But what about marketing consistency?

See, when most people hear the word “consistency,” they think of repeating the same things over and over again. And while repetition plays a role, there’s a whole lot more to it.

How to Build Marketing Consistency into Your Business

You’ve probably read a lot about the importance of brand consistency, and why it’s so important for your business to maintain it. And that’s true — brand consistency is important! But how do you build marketing consistency into your business?

Building consistency into your business marketing is key to your marketing success.
Building consistency into your business marketing is key to your marketing success.

1. Implement General Consistency in Your Business First

Before you can bring marketing consistency into your business, it’s important to understand how being consistent in general business tasks will set you up for success in your marketing.

There are several definitions for the word “consistency,” but our favorite is probably an “agreement or harmony of parts or features to one another or a whole.”

Consistency brings harmony of parts. Ultimately, consistency brings a wholeness to whatever you’re doing.

Think of consistency in the same way you’d maintain your vehicle. When you buy a car, it’s an investment. You don’t just buy it but never take care of it. You get oil changes, you wash your car, you change its tires. And these aren’t just one-time tasks. You do it multiple times throughout the year on a consistent basis, once every 2,000 miles, or quarterly.

The same goes for your business. You don’t just start a business and perform each task one time. Employees will receive regular paychecks. You’ll ensure your business information is secure every day. You’ll even lock your door every time you leave — not just the first time.

So if you’ve established general consistency practices in your business, you understand how important those processes are. Because without them, your employees won’t get paid, your confidential information won’t be secure, and your office will be open for anyone to stop in and take whatever they want.

It stands to reason that your marketing should also be consistent.

2. Understand How Consistency Will Benefit Your Marketing

You know it’s important to be consistent in a general sense. But how can consistency specifically benefit your marketing?

  • Consistency builds predictable results (You know what’s coming when you’re consistent.)
  • Consistency leads to greater financial returns (The easier you make it for clients, the more likely they’ll spend money.)
  • Consistency helps in the long-term (Better to focus on the big picture by staying consistent rather than just put out short-term fires.)
  • Consistency clears up confusion (Your message will be clear to your customers when you’re consistent with how you put it out there.)
  • Consistency builds trust with your customers (Your business information and your message should be the same across platforms.)

And those benefits just scratch the surface. The power of consistency in your marketing can enable you to accomplish far more with it than without it. But understanding that consistency is beneficial isn’t enough. You also have to put in the work.

3. Build Consistency into Your Marketing

Consistency is all about developing processes and following through with them. You can’t just hope that you’ll always be consistent.

Consider including these ideas when incorporating consistency into your marketing:

Make a long-term plan.

Planning for the next hour or day isn’t enough. If you want to repeat the benefits of long-term success, then you need to figure out how consistency will play a long-term role in your marketing. Ask yourself:

  • In what ways have I already built consistency into my business? Can I apply those methods to other aspects of my marketing/business?
  • What areas can I start adding consistency with little effort, and which areas are going to require a longer planning period to build consistency into them?
  • How can I keep myself (and coworkers/employees) accountable in staying consistent with new procedures?

Cross-post consistently.

Keep your calls-to-action (CTAs) clear across all marketing channels. Don’t give 8 or 10 CTAs on your website or your direct mailer. Your customers won’t know what to do, and they’ll probably end up doing nothing.

When it comes to your digital channels, such as your website or social media sites, or even your Google profile, keep your information consistent. For example, don’t have one phone number on your Google profile, another one on your website, and a third one on your Facebook page.

Incorporate consistency behind the scenes.

The work you put in behind the scenes may take a lot of effort, but the important thing is that it be simple for the customer on the front end.

For example, let’s say you want to run a social media marketing campaign that starts with a giveaway and ends with five people winning prizes. How can you build consistency into this social media marketing campaign?

  • Creating a social media schedule and posting consistently will help your followers know when your posts will go live.
  • Curating a list of highly-followed and relevant hashtags and incorporating them into every social post on appropriate platforms consistently will reach more people
  • Developing a process to consistently test all tagged accounts, links that will be clicked, and words to be spell-checked before publishing posts will provide a much better user experience and provide professional credibility for your business.

Notice the common theme? Consistency.

Ultimately, building consistency into your marketing is no easy task. It takes a lot of work. But understanding why it’s so important for not just your marketing, but also your business as a whole can really help you become more consistent in your marketing.

At Paragon Marketing Group, we understand that many small businesses don’t have the time or the resources to apply a large-scale strategy, which is why we love sharing that marketing load, or even taking it completely off your plate. If you’re looking for advice or help regarding your marketing strategy, we’d love to help you.

You can contact us by visiting our website at paragonmarketinggroup.com or call us at 262-443-9092.

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out our podcast, the Main Street Marketing Podcast, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your audio platform of choice.

Top 10 Marketing Mistakes

Circling marketing mistakes in pink highlighter

“Don’t be a fool and make these marketing mistakes.”

Um . . . what?

We promise this isn’t a prank or an April Fool’s Joke. We’re not calling anyone a fool. Rather, as a small business, one of our biggest desires is that other business owners not make some of the most common marketing mistakes we’ve seen over the last several years.

Don’t Make These Top 10 Marketing Mistakes

Now maybe you’ve made some of these. Or maybe you’re looking for some tips on how to avoid making these mistakes. Either way, here are the top 10 marketing mistakes we’ve seen:

Business owner pondering what marketing mistakes he's made
Have you ever made any of these marketing mistakes?

Mistake #1

Your business doesn’t have a website OR your website is outdated.

Having a sleek, professional, and updated website is a vital part of your web presence. Not only will a website help your customers find your business online, but it will also give your business more credibility than organizations with just social media sites.

Mistake #2

You aren’t thinking about your mobile viewers.

More customers are conducting business, making purchases, and scheduling appointments on their phones today. So every business needs an attractive, functional, responsive, and mobile-friendly website that will serve your customers where they are and encourage them to spend more time on your site. Because more time on your site means a higher likelihood of them making a purchase.

Mistake #3

You don’t know who your audience is, where to find them, or how to reach them.

This is where marketing strategy comes into play. If you’re just throwing content onto the internet, there’s no way you can track, measure, or even hope for success. Determining who your target audience is (and where to find them) is a crucial step you should take before deciding which marketing channels to use.

Mistake #4

You don’t know who your competitors are or what they’re doing.

As a small business, you have to work even harder to get your message out there when you have competitors. Learning who your competitors are and what they’re doing — as in what’s working and what’s not — is vital to help you differentiate your business from the competition.

Mistake #5

You’re under-utilizing OR over-utilizing your social media channels.

Most people are on at least one social channel, if not several. This is great news, because that means your customers are ready and waiting for your business to interact with them! But successful social media requires a plan. Are you posting once every 6 months, or 6 times a day? You don’t want your audience to forget about you, but you also don’t want to annoy them. Come up with a plan and then consistently post to your social channels.

Mistake #6

Your business is difficult for your customers to find.

Before you can build trust with potential clients, listing your business in leading directories will make your business visible and easy to find. Plus, making your business easy to find in leading applications, search engines, and other directories will provide the validity your business needs to be established online.

Mistake #7

You’re hoping rather than creating a well-thought plan and strategy to accomplish your marketing goals.

We often don’t put enough stock into our plans. It’s so much easier to come up with a few marketing goals and then hope for the best! But marketing goals shouldn’t be just unfulfilled New Year’s resolutions. Schedule time to come up with a plan (or contact us so we can help you make one!), write down all your goals and your plans to accomplish them, and then start executing.

Mistake #8

You aren’t distinguishing your products/services from your competition.

For better or worse, you know you’re not the only business owner selling your product or service. You likely have local, regional, and national competitors vying for the same customers as you. That’s why it’s so important to differentiate your product or service. Ask yourself what separates you from all your competitors. Why should customers buy from you rather than from someone else?

Mistake #9

You’re trying to do all the marketing yourself OR you’re not doing any marketing at all.

Perhaps you’re trying to figure out how to market your business, or maybe you’ve even wondered how much money you should spend on marketing per month. Have you ever wondered how you’re supposed to have time to do all your marketing while trying to run your business? Whether you need to delegate marketing responsibilities to other staff or outsource your marketing altogether, we recommend not trying to do it all yourself. In fact, that’s where our company tagline comes into play: “You run your business, we run your marketing.” If you’re interested in outsourcing any of your marketing, we’d love to help you.

Mistake #10

You consider marketing an expense rather than an investment.

Like all things in life, it’s much easier to focus on the short-term than the long-term. Yes, it does cost money to outsource your marketing, but as a marketing agency, we stand by the belief that it’s so much more a long-term investment in your business rather than a short-term expense.

Let’s face it — no one is perfect at marketing. No business owner has all the answers and can do everything perfectly. In a way, we’re all fools to an extent, because it’s impossible to know everything. And even if we did know everything about running a business, our time can’t fully be dedicated to marketing our businesses.

And that’s really where we come in. At Paragon Marketing Group, we understand exactly what it’s like to feel overwhelmed. We know what it’s like to wear all the hats and juggle all the balls. We’ve been in your shoes before. And that’s why it’s so important that we not only help other small businesses like us, but also be a marketing resource that you can access whenever you need.

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out our podcast, the Main Street Marketing Podcast, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your audio platform of choice.

5 Reasons to Outsource Your Marketing

“Why should I hire you if I can just figure it all out myself?” This is a common question we’ve heard when we talk about why you should outsource your marketing.

And that’s a great question. This might not apply to EVERY business. But most small businesses that are struggling to juggle everything are going to want to hear this. So here are 5 reasons we think it’s time for MOST businesses to outsource their marketing.

Business owner feels overwhelmed. He should consider outsourcing his marketing.
Feeling overwhelmed? Maybe it’s time to outsource your marketing!

5 Reasons to Outsource Your Marketing

1. You’re Juggling Too Many Things

When you have to do everything yourself, two things often happen:

  • You can’t perform every task at a high level because you’re too busy trying to do everything, so often you’re unable to give the necessary attention to all aspects of your business; OR
  • You forget about or give up on trying to do everything, so things like marketing fall by the wayside because you don’t have the time to dedicate to it.

If you see yourself in either or both of those situations, you’re not alone. You’re just juggling too many things, like this business owner.

2. You’re Focused on the Short Term

Like all good things in life, marketing takes time. And that time is a commitment you make to really invest in your business. But most business owners are often just trying to get through the next day, the next week, or the next month. And when it comes to marketing, this mindset is doomed to fail. Why? Because you’re focused on just the short term. It’s time to change your focus.

How do you start thinking with a long-term perspective? Since marketing strategies need regular planning and constant attention, you can start seeing results over time. Unfortunately, it is a rare business owner who can dedicate enough time to create a long-term plan specific to marketing.

That’s why many business owners will throw ideas at the wall and hope for the best. But this rarely works, if ever. And that’s why outsourcing your marketing to a team with the time can prepare your business to be successful over the long term.

3. You’re Losing Valuable Time

We often think of most things to purchase in terms of cost. How much is this lunch going to cost me? Am I going to have enough money to spend on my daughter’s dream wedding? How many dollars did your spouse just spend on that boat?! But what about the cost of your time . . . ?

If you’ve noticed a common thread through all these points, is that in most cases, business owners don’t have the luxury of time to dedicate to marketing. Ask yourself what all you could accomplish if you didn’t have to do all or any marketing by yourself.

Or maybe you haven’t spent much time on marketing, but it’s something you wish you had time for. A great marketing plan takes time and effort to create. And we’d love to help you do that!

4. You’re Limited to Only One Person’s Knowledge

Now maybe you or someone on staff has some marketing experience. That’s awesome! But what if you could multiply that knowledge? Together at Paragon Marketing Group, we offer more than 50 years of experience covering every aspect of marketing. Imagine what you could accomplish with so much more knowledge!

Let’s say you don’t have a background in marketing, but you’re considering hiring a person in-house. Now, this isn’t a bad solution, but consider the difference between hiring a full team of marketing experts as opposed to paying a single person a salary.

5. You Could Have So Many More Services at Your Disposal

Outsourcing your marketing truly does come with its perks. Consider all the additional services you could have employed for your business:

That’s a lot of services! And you could have all of them at your disposal if you outsource your marketing to a full-service group like Paragon!

You now have 5 great reasons to consider outsourcing your marketing. 

Now it’s pretty natural to have doubts or uncertainties about moving forward. It’s a big step. So as you have questions, talk to us. We’d love to discuss things further and find out how we can really take your marketing to the next level, and relieve that pressure you’ve been facing to do everything yourself.

You can contact us by visiting our website at paragonmarketinggroup.com or call us at 262-443-9092. We’d love to hear from you.

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out our podcast, the Main Street Marketing Podcast, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your audio platform of choice.

12 Tips Of Holiday Marketing

Here's our gift of holiday marketing tips for small businesses!

Blink, and the holiday season is almost upon us! But did you know the holiday marketing season is already here? Which begs the question: are you ready? Despite inflation, this holiday season could likely experience record-high spending. We want to help you prepare your business by offering our top 12 holiday marketing tips.

12 Holiday Marketing Tips

Now, you might be wondering why 12 tips. Why not 5 or 10? Well, there are 12 days of Christmas. Jesus had 12 disciples. There are 12 months in a year. And you probably need to prepare for what could be your busiest month of sales, which also happens to be during the 12th month of the year. Plus, we’re fans of the number 12. So without further ado, here are our 12 holiday marketing tips:

A laptop, mug, and book on a desk. The workplace is set up for a person to use holiday marketing tips for their business this season.
Use our top holiday marketing tips this season to prepare your business for the holidays!

1. Be Honest with Buyers

It goes without saying that you should be honest with your customers. And now more than ever, people crave authenticity in this highly commercialized season we refer to as “the holidays.” Maybe you’re struggling to offer a certain service or product due to supply issues. Tell your customers upfront. Or perhaps you’ve had to make significant changes to your business due to economic pressures. Either way, communicating the truth will establish your business’s credibility and build trustworthiness with customers.

Source: Rio SEO

2. Connect with Customers Using Holiday Cards

The holidays are overstuffed with commercialism, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a meaningful way to connect with them. A handwritten and/or photo card creates connection with customers and offers a glimpse of the person behind the business. Or, you could always send a digital holiday card that could be the start of a marketing campaign. Whichever way you do it, don’t miss out on this chance to connect with your customers.

Source: NetSuite

3. Develop Discounts During Inflation

Most consumers expect their holiday shopping to be affected by inflation this year. This creates a great opportunity for business owners to highlight deals, discounts, and special sales. Shoppers will be looking for new, creative ways to save money. With everyone feeling the impact of trying financial times, there’s no better time to offer holiday deals for frugal spenders.

Sources: Numerator, Nextdoor for Business

4. Excite Your Early Shoppers

We’re in the final quarter of the year. Some of your customers might have already FINISHED their holiday shopping! But that’s no reason to panic. According to eMarketer, 40% of shoppers plan to start their holiday spending during these last two months of the year. Gone are the days of most shopping happening in the few days leading up to the Christmas holiday. Reward the shoppers who are prepared to spend early and start marketing your holiday deals and specials now!

Sources: eMarketer, Outbrain

5. Get Your Gift Cards Ready

Unfortunately, since the outbreak of Covid-19, many businesses have struggled to keep up with high demand and supply chain issues. Now is the perfect time to get your gift cards ready. Not only do they make great gifts for business partners or faraway friends and family, but the numbers are also in your favor: last holiday season saw a 27% increase in gift cards.

Sources: Cardlytics, Nextdoor for Business

6. Keep Your Customers Top of Mind

For many people, the holiday season is not so much the “most wonderful time of the year,” but rather the most stressful time of the year. All of us can recall a time when we weren’t treated with respect by a business. Or, maybe we had a terrible experience, but the business had no solutions to offer. Sometimes it’s easy to forget what it’s like to be the customer. So as you make your marketing plans for the holiday season, make sure you’re keeping your customers in the front of your mind when making decisions.

Source: WP Swings

7. Mobilize Your Site for Mobile Users

More people are shopping on their smartphones and tablets today, and you want your digital presence ready for the season, too. Whether you’re B2B or B2C, your site visitors want to have a pleasant online experience. Why is this so important? It will keep them on your site longer, AND make them more likely to purchase if it’s easy. Optimizing your site for mobile will enable your page to load faster and could play a big role in increasing your sales, especially with increased web traffic around the holidays.

Sources: PageFly, Think With Google

8. Review Prior Year Results

When in doubt of where to start with your holiday marketing plan, look at how your business performed during last year’s holiday season. Whether you want to do a deep dive into Google Analytics, consider former successful (or failed) marketing campaigns, or repeat small changes that unexpectedly increased sales, historical information often offers a wealth of information.

Source: NetSuite

9. Send Fewer Emails to Keep Subscribers

How many times have you unsubscribed from businesses that seemed like they had nothing better to do than spam your email inbox? Now email marketing is a valuable, tried and true marketing method. But especially around the holidays, consumers receive countless emails. Even multiple per day from the same company! Give your email subscribers the gift of limited emails this holiday season.

Source: Ignite Visibility

10. Stick to Social Media Marketing

Social media is an ideal marketing channel to use year-round, and there’s no exception to that fact this holiday season. Nearly three quarters of global marketers utilize social media marketing, and you should too. In addition to paid advertising, posting giveaways or contests on social media is a great way to capture organic leads during the holidays.

Sources: HubSpot, Ignite Visibility

11. Utilize User Reviews

Now more than ever, businesses need to offer proof that their product or service is, indeed, worth it. And while there are many ways to approach that, user reviews act as a great proof of concept. Whether you’re highlighting 5-star reviews on your website, showcasing well-known customers, or filming a moving testimonial, the holiday season is the time to emphasize positive user reviews.

Source: WP Swings

12. Winterize Your Web Presence

It’s not just our homes, vehicles, or boats that need winterizing in Wisconsin (or anywhere north, for that matter). Don’t neglect your online marketing presence. Updating your Facebook cover photo, using a catchy blog post title (we think ours is pretty good!), or giving your website a festive look will get your customers in the holiday spirit while also demonstrating your business’s attention to detail and ability to stay current.

Source: WP Swings

There are so many ways you can maximize your marketing for the holiday season! We hope these holiday marketing tips will help your business succeed and sell during the holidays. Whether you’re gearing up for a busy shopping time or just need help with your marketing, contact Paragon Marketing Group for all your seasonal and non-seasonal marketing needs.

3 Reasons You Should Update Your Video Marketing

Two men shooting a video marketing ad

When it comes to video marketing, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. There are so many places consumers view video today – billboards, social media, websites, TV, search engines, apps. Plus, people are no longer watching video just on their TVs or computers. Now it’s convenient to watch on smartphones, tablets, and even e-readers. Which is all the more reason it’s important to update your video marketing for your business.

Why Should You Update Your Video Marketing?

Here are three reasons you should update your video marketing now:

1. Your Aesthetics & Content Need A Refresh

Retro TV, VCR, and soda cans displaying old video marketing
Retro TV, VCR, and soda cans

Now if your video marketing hasn’t changed since the 1990s, you don’t need us to tell you they desperately need an update. But it’s not the 2000s or even 2010s anymore either, The Internet is constantly changing, and so should your online presence, video included. Are the people, the styles, the objects, or the technology in your videos outdated? A good way to find out is to put yourself in the following fictional scenario: If you were to approach a potential customer in person wearing the same style, showing the same objects, and using the same technology in your videos, would that customer be more focused on your appearance or your message?

Perhaps it’s not the tangible items that need to change in your video marketing. Is data or information in your video current? Today’s consumers are highly intelligent. With new information readily available online, having updated, accurate information in your video marketing is vital if you want customers to take your business seriously.

Source: NG Production Films

2. Your Customer Base Has Expanded

It’s certainly good news when your customer base is expanding. But with growth comes change. Remember when we mentioned there are so many ways for people to consume video today? That means your video marketing net should widen to capture more demographics and types of people. While every business has its target demographic, limiting your video marketing to attract a narrow set of people increases your potential to lose sales and customers.

A large part of online video consumption comes from newer social media platforms. TikTok didn’t exist until 2016. Stories and Reels are newer options to share video on Facebook and Instagram. And let’s not forget about LinkedIn. As of 2019, LinkedIn is the most trusted social platform for credible content. Yet only about 1% of users shared posts then! Consider that a huge opportunity to establish your business as a trusted authority in your industry using video content.

3. Your Videos Are Getting Lost in the Shuffle

Have you heard of the term “ad fatigue”? Elevato describes it as “a phenomenon that occurs when an audience becomes desensitized to an ad set causing ad efficiency to decrease.” In simpler terms, people are tired of seeing ads. This reinforces our earlier point: video is everywhere. But as a business who wants to stand out in the crowd rather than get lost in the shuffle, your video ads need to be different. How? By telling a story. Stop selling! People have been telling stories since the beginning of time. Your video marketing might have current content and subject matter, but if you’re trying to sell rather tell, you probably need to update your videos.

Another element that can impact your videos’ reach relates to branding. Video marketing is a great way to reinforce your brand using your logo, brand colors, and even tone. Does your company have a mission? Make sure every video you put out there reflects it. Does your company sell a humorous product? Or is your company a non-profit with a serious mission? Whatever tone your business adopts, be sure to create video content that aligns with your company’s vision.

Source: The Social Shake-Up

If there’s one takeaway here, it’s that video isn’t going anywhere. We encourage you to review your video marketing and ask yourself the following questions: Is the subject matter or information out of date? Are your videos failing to capture more demographics? Do your videos reflect your company’s mission and vision? Is your brand obvious in your videos?

Before we became the full-marketing agency you know as Paragon Marketing Group today, we were formerly a video production company. And with that experiences comes a world of knowledge that we are passionate about sharing with other businesses, just like yours. If you’re ready to update your video marketing, contact us today!

It’s Time To Plan Your Marketing For 2023

A marketer pointing to a graph on his computer to demonstrate why it's important to plan your marketing for 2023.

We’re still a few months from the new year, but that doesn’t mean your marketing shouldn’t be prepared. It’s time to plan your marketing for 2023. Aside from inflation and economic changes impacting businesses nationwide, technological advances and new, emerging trends in marketing mean it’s even more important to start planning your marketing for the upcoming year.

As a full-service marketing group, we believe it’s important that your marketing attract new clients while retaining your current customers. Here are three reasons why it’s time to plan your marketing for 2023:

1. Marketing Trends Are Always Changing . . . And So Should You

Between a global pandemic and constant advancements in technology, it isn’t surprising that advertising trends are changing. While we believe in celebrating your milestones, the marketing machine is constantly evolving, which means your marketing strategies should, too. Whether you need help with your website or a social channel, it’s time to map out marketing strategies for 2023.

Constantly evolving marketing trends means it's time to change and plan your marketing for 2023.
Constantly evolving marketing trends means it’s time to change and plan your marketing for 2023.

2. New Consumers’ Habits Requires A Mobile-First Mindset

While the pandemic might have slowed in-person business for many consumers, those same consumers not only continue to spend more time online, but they also use their mobile devices to shop, search for businesses, and view websites on their mobile devices. And with this move here to stay, businesses need to ensure their websites are responsive, consider increasing their mobile advertising budget, and make decisions with a mobile-first mindset to continue to attract today’s consumers.

Plan your marketing for 2023 with a mobile-first mindset as more consumers continue to search and shop on their mobile devices.
Plan your marketing for 2023 with a mobile-first mindset as more consumers continue to search and shop on their mobile devices.

Source: FinancesOnline

3. Marketing Experts Could Give You The Upper Hand

Many people are overwhelmed by the prospect of trying to design their own website, get their business in all the proper listings, and post regularly to multiple social channels in addition to all the other marketing avenues they could be utilizing. What often helps a business stand out from the crowd is bringing in a third-party expert. Why? Because marketing firms stay up-to-date on the latest trends and specialize in providing marketing services for businesses big or small. They can even manage your marketing completely if you rather focus on running your business. Whether you need an outside opinion or guidance, firms like Paragon Marketing Group can provide the necessary expertise you need.

Consider hiring a marketing firm, like Paragon Marketing Group, to help you in the year as you plan for marketing in 2023.
Consider hiring a marketing firm, like Paragon Marketing Group, to help you in the year as you plan for marketing in 2023.

Source: Paragon Marketing Group

Marketing trends will continue to change, so it’s vital that your business embrace the future. Whether you choose to hire a marketing firm for outside expertise, mobilize your website to create a better online experience for your mobile users, or map out a marketing strategy to prepare for the new year, now is the time to plan your marketing for 2023.

Why Marketing Your Startup Business Matters

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve started a business, or maybe you’ve been a small business owner for the last couple years. And you know better than anyone that starting, much less marketing your startup business, is no easy task. You can’t just perform one simple task. Owning a business means wearing a lot of hats, juggling a lot of balls, and maybe coming up with a better metaphor to express the challenges a small business owner faces.

Sometimes the to-do list of a startup business owner is so long, marketing might not seem all that important. With everything else you’re supposed to manage, could marketing your startup really make that much of a difference?

At Paragon Marketing Group, we’re passionate about marketing, so of course we could share many reasons why we believe marketing is a key ingredient to your startup’s success. But don’t take our word for it – the numbers speak for themselves.

Millions of Small Businesses Are Vying for Consumers’ Attention

As of 2020, there were 31.7 million small businesses in the United States (Over 1 million were startups between 2019 and 2020 alone!) And guess what? Every one of those 31.7 million businesses want a slice of the customer pie. If you don’t want your startup business to get lost in the shuffle of 30 million other businesses, there’s something key you can do to build your brand and reach those potential customers with whom you want to share your message, service, or product. Come on, you know where we’re going with this. Let’s say it together: “Marketing!”

Number of Startup Businesses Started, 1997-2017
Marketing your startup business can be challenging in today’s incredibly competitive market with millions of new businesses starting every year.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy

Digital Marketing Is the Primary Mode of Communication between Small Businesses and Their Customers

In a survey of over 1,000 small business owners, results clearly indicated the top two modes of communication between businesses and their customers were email at 71.8% and Facebook at 60.8%. What does that mean? If you want to communicate with your customers, utilizing digital marketing channels could significantly boost the number of potential customers your business could reach. If you’re just getting started, now is the perfect time to start marketing for your startup!

Email and Facebook marketing lead the way for marketing channels employed by small businesses.
Employing digital marketing channels, such as email and Facebook marketing, could help with marketing your startup.

Source: Campaign Monitor

Marketing Your Startup Business Creates Authenticity in a Increasingly Distrusting World

According to a Havas Group report in 2021, almost 70% of consumers do not trust advertisements they see. Even worse? Those same consumers distrust 71% of brands. So where does authenticity fit in? Businesses without an established brand, say little or no social media profiles, lack of a website, minimal or no advertising, no testimonials – nothing to point to your business’s legitimacy means that your business is hard to trust. In other words, how can customers believe your startup business can solve their problem or provide a solution when your marketing is nonexistent? The short answer: building trust with consumers starts with marketing.

Marketing helps create authenticity in today's world.
Marketing your startup can provide authenticity in an increasingly distrustful world.

Sources: Entrepreneur, MarketingDive, Havas Group

Okay, if you didn’t know before, we’re certain you understand now: marketing is essential for your startup. But let’s face it, it’s really hard to not get overwhelmed by the long marketing to-do lists. There’s web design, and print marketing, and social media, and graphic design, and PPC, and SEO, and wait, what do all these acronyms mean, and how do you learn and execute all these marketing channels AND run your business . . . ?

That’s where we come in. As a small business, we understand the challenges that small business owners face, especially when you’re first starting out. Whether you’re trying to stand out in a crowded market, unsure of how to connect with your target customers, or want to establish a trusted brand, we’d love to answer your questions about taking your startup marketing to the next level.

Marketing Phobia: It’s A Real Thing!

Marketing Phobia: it's a real thing!

When you run a business, you have to market yourself. Period! But many businesses do not do this continually. Why? Marketing Phobia! Some may say that it’s not a real thing but it is actually true. Throughout the course of every year, we run into people all the time that are scared to market their organization. It may sound silly, however there are some important reasons for it.

1. The business owner just doesn’t know where to start.

Getting started can be overwhelming. A well constructed marketing plan can relieve this anxiety and put your business on a clear path for success. Some first steps: Define where you want to go with your business, identify who your target audience is, and determine a proper budget for your business. This is critical knowledge for you to have as you decide on how to construct your plan.

2. Misconception on cost.

Business owners create in their own minds some pretty grandiose price tags when it comes to marketing. When in reality, they may be way off. This happens many times because they hear what X person is spending or what Y company spent. But that’s not you or your business. The cost of what your company would need to spend to reach your goals could be a fraction of what someone else paid. Marketing towards your goals and your desired results can paint an accurate picture of what your true costs will be and not a figure from someone else’s experience.

3. Fear of success.

Yes, that’s right, the fear of success. Many business owners actually do not market their business because they fear they may gain too much business. Understandably, this one can keep a business owner up at night. However, you have to put your name out there and keep it foremost in people’s minds, so they know you exist and can call upon you whenever they need you. It can definitely bring in more business, but if you have a well constructed plan on how to handle the growth without sacrificing your quality and customer service, you can face this fear!

4. You may have had bad experiences with marketing companies in the past.

This one is big, whether it was a personal experience or one you heard from a third party. Unfortunately, the reality is, there are some marketing firms out there that are less than stellar. We’ve seen, however, there are a lot more that are really good at what they do and are worth every penny invested. The key to overcoming this issue is to do your homework as an owner. Get references, talk with the team who will be working with you, understand what they can do for you, and look for a team who holds transparency and accountability at the center of your relationship.

Anyone can overcome marketing phobia. It takes having that satisfying relationship with the right marketing company to help you get past your fears. If you find a marketing company that will partner with you throughout your journey of growth, we promise you’ll be glad you made the investment.

Benefits Of Email Marketing For Small Businesses

email marketing for small businesses.

Email is a tool most people use everyday. Email marketing is a cost effective solution to directly communicate with your customers, especially for small businesses. Whether it be a monthly newsletter, “Happy Birthday” message or seasonal specials, sending emails to your clients or prospects can be a great way to increase brand awareness and help drive sales. Here are five benefits of email marketing for small businesses:

  1. Increased Awareness

    Email marketing is an easy way to stay in front of your target audience. Send them messages to stay on top of their mind. Be consistent for the best results. If your email marketing schedule is inconsistent, people might not remember your business and will be less likely to open the message. Keep your messages fun and relevant for best results.

  2. Consistent Communication

    Like mentioned above, it’s important to send out your messages consistently. Whether it’s once or twice a month or quarterly, make sure you have a plan. You don’t want to send too many emails and appear annoying but you also want to stay in front of them. Sending out an email once or twice a year is not going to be an effective solution for your marketing plan.

  3. Increased Website Traffic

    It’s important to have strong call to actions in your emails. Often times, an important call to action would be sending recipients to your website. This needs to be done strategically. You can’t just send them to your home page. Which page is going to have the most relevant information? It could be a service page, a product page, or the contact page. Send them to a page where they would be expecting to go based off the information in the email and a page that will give them necessary information to increase conversions.

  4. Build Credibility

    People are more likely to open a message from a sender they know. Make sure subject lines are relevant so the recipients can see who you are and how you can help them. You don’t want your messages to look like spam. Know your readers and make sure your content is relevant to the people receiving the message. All of these things build credibility for your business and can help increase sales through your email marketing. Get people to trust your business.

  5. Cost Effective Option

    The benefits of email marketing can be more cost effective than other marketing efforts. For an even more cost effective solution, collect emails from your customers and potential customers to build an email list so you don’t need to purchase a list. This will lead to best results and ROI as you’ve already established credibility and a relationship with these recipients.

3 Reasons You Should Update Your Video Marketing

Two men shooting a video marketing ad

When it comes to video marketing, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. There are so many places consumers view video today – billboards, social media, websites, TV, search engines, apps. Plus, people are no longer watching video just on their TVs or computers. Now it’s convenient to watch on smartphones, tablets, and even e-readers. Which is all the more reason it’s important to update your video marketing for your business.

Why Should You Update Your Video Marketing?

Here are three reasons you should update your video marketing now:

1. Your Aesthetics & Content Need A Refresh

Retro TV, VCR, and soda cans displaying old video marketing
Retro TV, VCR, and soda cans

Now if your video marketing hasn’t changed since the 1990s, you don’t need us to tell you they desperately need an update. But it’s not the 2000s or even 2010s anymore either, The Internet is constantly changing, and so should your online presence, video included. Are the people, the styles, the objects, or the technology in your videos outdated? A good way to find out is to put yourself in the following fictional scenario: If you were to approach a potential customer in person wearing the same style, showing the same objects, and using the same technology in your videos, would that customer be more focused on your appearance or your message?

Perhaps it’s not the tangible items that need to change in your video marketing. Is data or information in your video current? Today’s consumers are highly intelligent. With new information readily available online, having updated, accurate information in your video marketing is vital if you want customers to take your business seriously.

Source: NG Production Films

2. Your Customer Base Has Expanded

It’s certainly good news when your customer base is expanding. But with growth comes change. Remember when we mentioned there are so many ways for people to consume video today? That means your video marketing net should widen to capture more demographics and types of people. While every business has its target demographic, limiting your video marketing to attract a narrow set of people increases your potential to lose sales and customers.

A large part of online video consumption comes from newer social media platforms. TikTok didn’t exist until 2016. Stories and Reels are newer options to share video on Facebook and Instagram. And let’s not forget about LinkedIn. As of 2019, LinkedIn is the most trusted social platform for credible content. Yet only about 1% of users shared posts then! Consider that a huge opportunity to establish your business as a trusted authority in your industry using video content.

3. Your Videos Are Getting Lost in the Shuffle

Have you heard of the term “ad fatigue”? Elevato describes it as “a phenomenon that occurs when an audience becomes desensitized to an ad set causing ad efficiency to decrease.” In simpler terms, people are tired of seeing ads. This reinforces our earlier point: video is everywhere. But as a business who wants to stand out in the crowd rather than get lost in the shuffle, your video ads need to be different. How? By telling a story. Stop selling! People have been telling stories since the beginning of time. Your video marketing might have current content and subject matter, but if you’re trying to sell rather tell, you probably need to update your videos.

Another element that can impact your videos’ reach relates to branding. Video marketing is a great way to reinforce your brand using your logo, brand colors, and even tone. Does your company have a mission? Make sure every video you put out there reflects it. Does your company sell a humorous product? Or is your company a non-profit with a serious mission? Whatever tone your business adopts, be sure to create video content that aligns with your company’s vision.

Source: The Social Shake-Up

If there’s one takeaway here, it’s that video isn’t going anywhere. Review your video marketing and ask yourself the following questions: Is the subject matter or information out of date? Are your videos failing to capture more demographics? Do your videos reflect your company’s mission and vision? Is your brand obvious in your videos?

If you’re ready to update your video marketing, consider contacting your local marketing agency today.