Procuring New Business: Stink or Promote!
The stats don’t make for pretty reading. One in two businesses don’t make their fifth birthday. Others drag themselves in hope and a prayer through that celebration date only to fizzle out soon afterwards. Only a third reach the ten-year milestone1. While there are many reasons for this, one stands out above them all: a failure to adequately market the primary products or services of the business.
Yes, some businesses make it on the back of a golden-ticket product or thanks to a large existing network of friends and acquaintances, or through the sheer charisma of its owner. Most aren’t so fortunate, however. The future of most businesses is directly tied to their ability to promote themselves. It really is a case of stink … or promote.
Promotion: Tennis Games & Hairstyles
The problem is that most sole proprietors are artists, specialists or those with a passion for a particular product or service. Most are not “salesman” and many aren’t comfortable with overt self-promotional tactics.
So, while marketing seems a daunting task, thanks to the Internet, our task is a whole lot simpler. That said, it doesn’t lessen the work required. Or the smarts needed.
For those prepared to both act smart, upskill, and put in the hard yards, the playing field of online marketing is an increasingly level one. Imagine for a moment, a game of tennis. To succeed on the tennis court, you need a good, well-strung racket, the skills to get around the court, and the prerequisite fitness levels.
Think of your website as your racket and online promotional strategies (including utilising social media well, networking, procuring backlinks, etc.) as the skills required to play the game. Settle for a poor, badly-strung racket and you’re at an immediate disadvantage. You can tear around the tennis court huffing and puffing, pulling off a winning stroke every now and again, but without the right equipment you’ll work harder for less results. Your racket may even look good, hip and trendy, but if it’s not well-strung, you’re fluffing important shots you would otherwise easily make.
And sadly, this is where so many err. You get what you pay for.
Look, it’s entirely reasonable to ask: With so many free DIY site builders available, why pay a web designer to build my website?
The answer lies in another question (and a switch in metaphor). You have a pair of scissors lying around at home, no doubt. Why not cut and style your own hair? Hairdressers cost a fortune!
Unless you’re going for the bald pate look, and you’re happy with shaving off the new wisps that appear every few days, the reason you visit a hairdresser is simple: you entrust your appearance to someone who knows what they’re doing.
Your online presence is important to you and your business. In this day and age, it’s the basis and springboard for all successful marketing. And for good and bad, how you appear online informs others about you. Just like a bad hairdo can leave one red-faced, a poorly structured website can cost a business dearly.
So, where do you start in the game of marketing? Get the best racket you can get your hands on, and invest in the finest set of strings.
It goes without saying that hard work is required. But most business owners aren’t afraid of putting in the hard yards. The trick is to learn to work smarter, not necessarily harder.
What Does Google Deem Important?
To many, Google is a conundrum wrapped in a riddle. There are over two-hundred metrics that are factored into weighting a website’s SEO worth. Figuring out how Google works and what it deems important can feel like trying to play darts blindfolded, while doing a handstand.
In an attempt to demystify this a little, let me point out that these factors can be grouped into two main streams.
On the one hand, we have the networking capacity of a website; that is, how the site’s interconnected in cyberspace. This includes its presence via social media and the quality of its backlinks; in a phrase, a site’s perceived online authority or popularity. This is, to use our earlier analogy, the game itself.
On the other hand, we have the onsite optimisation of a website; that is, how the site’s structured and geared for user-consumption. This includes among other things, its permalink structure, sitewide branding, optimisation of visual media, mobile responsiveness, dynamic content, and appropriate keyword density and usage (or on-page optimisation). This is, if you like, the resources needed to play the game.
As already mentioned, these resources are two-fold: the right equipment and the necessary skills to master the game.
So, firstly, in the game of marketing, a well-designed, SEO-structured website is worth its weight in gold. It maximises your online potential and removes any limitations in your reach.
Now, there are exceptions to the rules, those who can afford to ignore this advice.
Who are these fortunate souls? Big brands and celebrity figures will rank well regardless of their SEO efforts (although few leave it to chance and maximise their SEO regardless). Why? Because if you search for tennis shoes, Google knows you expect to find Nike in the search results. If you search for Federer, the one named Roger is no doubt sought.
I consider myself a reasonable social tennis player. But even if Federer’s racket was steamrolled and he had just three working strings, I’d hardly get a point off him. As in real life, so in SEO world. Big brands and celebrity figures enjoy the favour their status has procured. For the rest of us, we’ve got to make the investment necessary or forever flounder in the murky backwaters of search results.
Secondly, the necessary skills to master the game include knowing how to create SEO-strong blog posts, utilising your social media platforms optimally to drive traffic back to your site, and building a network of high-quality backlinks.
It goes without saying that hard work is required. But most business owners aren’t afraid of putting in the hard yards. The trick is to learn to work smarter, not necessarily harder.
1 SOURCES
Business Know-How
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
McCrindle’s Small Business Nation Report
SBA, Office of Advocacy
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