5 Signs Your Small Business Marketing Needs an MOT
You wouldn't drive your car for years without an MOT. Yet most small businesses run their marketing that way: set it up once, then keep going and hope for the best. Or even... don't set it up at all and cross their fingers!
The trouble is that marketing rarely breaks down all at once. It just quietly stops working as well as it used to. Here are five warning signs that your business could do with a proper check-up.
1. You're busy, but enquiries have gone quiet
You're posting, emailing and keeping your website up to date, yet the phone isn't ringing any more than it used to. Activity isn't the same as results. When effort goes up and enquiries stay flat, something in the system isn't pulling its weight.
2. You can't say where your customers come from
If someone asked which of your marketing brings in paying customers and the honest answer is "I'm not sure", that's OK – you're not alone. It does mean you could be spending time and money on things that do very little, and neglecting the things that work.
3. Your website feels out of date (and you avoid sending people to it)
You know it needs some attention. Prices have changed, the photos are old, or it doesn't quite describe what you do any more. If you hesitate before sharing your own website, potential customers probably hesitate too.
4. Your business sounds different everywhere
Your website says one thing, your social media says another, and your leaflets look as if they came from a third business. Small inconsistencies add up. Customers notice, even when they can't say exactly why something feels off.
5. You're doing marketing because you feel you should
You post because everyone says you should be on social media. You've got a newsletter sign-up that no-one signs up to. When marketing becomes a box to tick rather than a plan with a purpose, it's usually a sign that it's time to strategise.
Recognise any of these?
Spotting the signs is the easy part. Working out what's causing them, and what to do about it first, is where an outside eye helps.
That's what my Small Business Marketing MOT is for: a fixed-price check-up of your marketing, with a clear, prioritised list of what to fix. No jargon, and no long contracts.
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