Business
How Do You Eat An Elephant? One bite at a time. Ronnie Harris, VJH Marketing
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hy did I start this article with a pretty poor joke? Since working as a Marketing Consultant, I’ve come to realise that many people regard marketing for their business as the elephant in the room. They know it’s there. They know they must face it to help grow a successful business, but they continually ignore it, choosing to put it off to another day. Do you recognise yourself in this description? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Marketing is often regarded as a big issue, particularly if it isn’t your strength. And to be fair, why should it be your strength? You started your business to do the thing you love and use your skills to deliver great products or services to your clients. You didn’t start your business to become an expert in all things marketing.
point to keep your goals on track. There are a few different definitions, but all boil down to: • Specific - pin down exactly what you want to accomplish. • Measurable - keep track of your progress as you work towards your goal • Achievable - make your goals reasonable so that you can accomplish them • Realistic - consider your current workload and resource • Time-based - you may have a deadline you would ideally like to meet but do give yourself more time than you think you need.
“You started your business to do the thing you love...”
What that does mean, however, is that marketing becomes an elephant-sized issue that can feel onerous and weigh heavy on your mind.
One bite at a time. The way to approach your marketing is to break it down into achievable tasks. Decide on the goal and the timescale needed to achieve that goal. Try not to be too ambitious because you could be setting yourself up to fail. If you are in doubt, the acronym SMART is always a good reference
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I am happy to put my hand up and say loud and proud I have absolutely zero experience of business accounts. Or at least very little experience. As it’s a task that can’t be ignored and because HMRC would not regard me too favourably if I did ignore it, I do what I can by keeping up to date records of income and outgoings and then I seek advice from someone who does understand business accounts. Imagine if there was a legal requirement to do your marketing, or a marketing version of HMRC? I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be any marketing elephants in the room.
Ronnie Harris • VJH Marketing ronnie@vjhmarketing.com 07970 752660 www.vjhmarketing.com
