The only way to enjoy the freedom of owning your own business is to enjoy the act of marketing your own business….
It’s funny how many small business owners I run across that claim that they just don’t get this marketing thing, or worse, they claim that they hate this whole marketing thing. Here’s the rub, no matter what business you think you are in, you’re actually in the marketing business. Plain and simple all businesses are marketing businesses. The purpose of a business, as Peter Drucker was fond of saying, is to create a customer — everything else is just window dressing.
So, back to our point. The only way to get good at your marketing business is to enjoy your marketing business. Stop fighting it and have some fun. Marketing is not rocket surgery folks — it’s common sense. If you enjoy your work, are passionate about your products, love demonstrating how you can make life better for your clients, then the rest may just be window dressing.
Lighten up, bottle your enthusiasm, make it easy for people to experience your expertise and then hit the phones (or virtual pavement.) Fun in contagious and its counters, fear, hesitation and cynicism are real marketing turn-offs. Prospects are drawn to people and companies that exude enthusiasm — everyone wants a piece of that.
Yes, you may have to open up and let people know who you really are – and that can be the hardest part of marketing for some – but don’t let that stand in your way.
So, tell me what you do to keep marketing fun, to enjoy the ride?
It’s like you’re talking directly to me on this one! Cool post.
Ask Michael Wagner how much I enjoy marketing my brand; we’ve had countless conversations on this topic. Or ask Toby Bloomberg (the Diva is a great bloggy friend of mine), she’s heard me ramble on about it oo.
You are 100% right; all business is marketing and all marketing can be fun. It might not feel fun some days, but nothing feels good all the time. Still, let people know that too. I use my blog to showcase every step of what it takes to bring a bike to market- good, bad or indifferent. The interactive dialog has been a big success for me and has made a whole new following of passionate enthusiasts for the brand who now have a personal relationship with it.
Sometimes you have to just take a deep breath and decide to “just be you” and that will draw people in too.
Great post!
Exactly!
I actually explained this to my wife’s boss a month or two ago …
It’s the most fun part for me, so I guess I’ve got an unfair advantage.
It’s funny. My wife is a photography and has the technical part of photography down great. But, I’m the marketing director. I’m more excited about how much she could be making if market the right way to the right people. Right now it’s 95% word of mouth and she’s only been doing it for a couple of months. I just wish that she were more excited about the marketing side.