"The truth is, what you do matters. What you do today matters. What you do every day matters. Successful people just do the things that seem to make no difference in the act of doing them and they do them over and over and over until the compound effect kicks in.”
― Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life
I love this idea. You can apply this concept to whatever element of life is most relevant to you at the moment. Whether you are trying to lose weight, save money or start a new business, you need to do things over and over and over again before there will be any sign of growth or improvement. What you do matters. What you do today matters.
In today's culture of fast-paced living and instantaneous results, we forget the pure value of patience. And while many of us allow our lives to be controlled by schedules and activities that suck away our time, we forget that today matters. Today is an opportunity to make progress and to move forward (even if you don't see immediate results).
All this to simply say, the things you do with marketing don't always produce immediate results. More often than not, you have to post on Facebook, your blog, or Google+ dozens of times before you get some sort of customer interaction. Many small business owners tell me "I just don't see how an email newsletter / blog / social media is going to make any difference in sales" or "I have been posting for weeks and no one is responding." While these are valid concerns, the point is, marketing is one of those things that you have to do on a consistent basis. Would I jump up and down and do a happy dance if after the first email newsletter we sent out for a client we received raving reviews and had a 40% open rate? Yes. Is that going to happen? No. Marketing takes time and it absolutely has a compound effect. The goal behind many marketing projects is to build trust, to establish an organization as a credible resource and to position the company as a valued part of the community. That is what you would call a long term and never ending resolution.
We understand that building strong, reliable relationships take time. We know that we don't tend to trust someone immediately after we meet them. After getting to know them, seeing them often and having positive interactions, then we begin to trust someone. So why do we think it is any different with our businesses? I can assure you that if we ignore the things that edify our companies, never articulate the value of our products, or fail to engage our customers in a meaningful way, we will miss the boat. If we are not patient enough to put in the work today and trust that results will come, we will miss out on the valuable relationships with our customers that not only improve our bottom line but can inspire our employees and build a long-lasting legacy for our company.
A few things to help you do little things today that will produce big results in the future.
Post on social media on a regular basis (3-5 times a week for Facebook). If this scares you, set aside one hour at the beginning of the week and schedule posts. Not sure what to write? Find relevant and helpful articles to share with your following.
Commit to sending out a monthly email newsletter to your customers to engage them in an affordable and valuable way.
Regularly be involved in your community - make sure people know who you are and what you do.
Take the time to ask your customers how you are doing and how you can improve.
Start a blog where you share relevant information, develop a brand personality and offer an industry outlook. Use this as a platform to start conversations with your customers.
I hope this has been helpful! What little things do you do every day to boost the success of your business?
-Amanda
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