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Common Marketing Challenges Small Businesses Face (And How to Overcome Them)

Have you ever wondered why your competitors get all the attention while your business stays under the radar? Gaining a competitive edge in today’s market hinges on several key factors. It’s about having a great product, positioning it against your competition, and executing a good marketing strategy. Other factors include delivering an exceptional customer experience, having good customer service, ensuring your product is of good quality, and so on. These elements and more work together to set your business apart and drive success. But here’s the thing – even the best product can struggle to succeed if it’s not marketed effectively. If you don’t spread the word, you risk being overshadowed by competitors who invest heavily in advertising and promotion. I’ve seen outstanding companies with great products fail to capture attention simply because their competition outspent them on marketing and dominated the market. Without effective marketing, even the best products can go unnoticed while less deserving competitors thrive. So, here’s a quick overview of some common marketing challenges small businesses face and how to tackle each one effectively.

Table of contents

Limited Resources for Marketing

Standing Out in a Crowded Market With Lots of Competition

Keeping Up With Marketing Trends

Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms

Creating Quality Content

Lack of a Dedicated Marketing Team

LIMITED Resources for MARKETING

One of the biggest hurdles for small businesses is the lack of financial or personnel resources to launch good marketing campaigns.

With 62% of small businesses struggling to allocate enough money to marketing and 45% having trouble measuring ROI from their existing marketing efforts, it’s easy to understand why marketing is a struggle for many small businesses.

In my experience, there’s a tipping point when it comes to marketing for small businesses.

Spend too little or allocate your budget unwisely, and you won’t see the results you’re hoping for. On the flip side, pouring too much money and time into marketing without a clear strategy can be wasteful.

Every small business has a sweet spot—a balance of funds, time, and the right marketing approach that will produce the best results.

Finding that balance is critical to making your marketing efforts truly effective.

To tackle this issue, small businesses should spend some resources on hiring a marketing consultant and doing some basic competitive research and market analysis.

The funds and time spent on basic market research are money well spent. In fact, last week, I wrote an entire article about it!

The data you get from this will help create a marketing strategy that finds that balance between a) funds, b) time, and c) marketing actions.

With data at hand, you can focus on targeted yet cost-effective marketing strategies, such as social media and email marketing, to get things going.

There are many platforms out there that allow you to reach your audience without breaking the bank. You may not know about them, but they’re out there, which is where a marketing consultant can help.

Additionally, track the performance of your campaigns using accessible or affordable tools like Google Analytics to ensure your marketing dollars are well spent.

Standing Out in a Crowded Market With Lots of Competition

There’s no denying it. Almost any business idea already exists and is already being done by someone. Not to discourage you, but in today’s business world, competition is fierce, and small businesses often need help differentiating themselves. With so many players in the game, getting lost in the noise is easy. Positioning your product in the marketplace is crucial for standing out and differentiating yourself from the competition. It’s not just about marketing your product to get a slice of the same pie everyone else is eating (so to speak); it’s about strategically positioning it to capture a specific sector of the market more effectively. While there are many ways to position a product in the marketplace, here are three common ways to position your product against, different from, or alongside the competition:

#01

Niche Focus:

Target a specific, underserved market segment where your product can excel without competition.
#02

Value Proposition:

Highlight unique benefits or superior value your product offers compared to competitors, making it the go-to choice.
#03

Brand Alignment:

Align your product with a particular lifestyle or brand identity that resonates deeply with a specific audience, creating a strong emotional connection.

Another key to standing out is finding your unique selling proposition (USP) and communicating it clearly.

What makes your business different?

Why should customers choose you over others?

And who is your exact target audience?

Once you’ve nailed down your positioning and USP, ensure it’s front and center in all your marketing efforts.

Keeping Up With Marketing Trends

Let me tell you a secret.

In the world of digital marketing, there are so many new tools and new ways to market that even I, a professional marketer and marketing consultant, sometimes have a hard time keeping up. So, it’s no wonder that small businesses often need help to keep up. New platforms, algorithms, and trends can be overwhelming, especially for those who aren’t tech-savvy. Here’s what I often tell my clients, especially when they have a smaller budget. Rather than getting distracted by all the newest and fanciest marketing methods, choose one and go for broke! That is, choose one platform and focus on that. Start small and focus on mastering one or two digital channels that align with your target audience. Whether it’s Facebook ads or optimizing your website for search engines, gaining a strong understanding of key areas will be more effective than tackling everything at once.

Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms

With so many social media platforms available, it’s easy to get confused about where to focus your efforts. Should you be on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, or all of them? The first question to consider is whether your business should be on social media at all. The second is choosing the right platform. Social media is undoubtedly an effective way to reach a broader audience, but depending on your business model and the products or services you offer, being on social media might be essential or simply an added advantage. For some businesses, it’s a must-have, while for others, it’s a beneficial extra.
If you decide to use social media as a primary way to market your business, the best approach is to start with the platforms where your target audience spends the most time. Research where your potential customers are most active and invest your time and resources there. Remember, it’s better to do a one platforms and focus on that and do it well than to spread yourself too thin across many.

Creating Quality Content

Content marketing is a powerful tool, but many small businesses struggle to consistently produce and deliver quality content. Whether it’s blog posts, videos, or social media updates, creating content that resonates with your audience takes time and effort. Meanwhile, content plays a crucial role in how customers discover products and services. Content on platforms like Google, social media, and others is responsible for nearly 80% of online purchases today.
Focus on quality over quantity. It’s better to produce fewer, high-quality pieces that connect with your audience than to churn out content for the sake of it. Creating quality content comes down to three key factors: relevance, consistency, and engagement. First, ensure your content is relevant to your audience’s needs and interests. Second, maintain consistency in your content production and posting schedule to build trust and keep your audience engaged. Finally, focus on creating content that encourages interaction, whether through comments, shares, or direct responses, to foster a strong connection with your audience. If time is an issue, consider outsourcing content creation or repurposing existing content in different formats.

Lack of a Dedicated Marketing Team

Many small businesses lack a dedicated marketing team, making it challenging to execute and manage marketing strategies. Marketing often falls to the business owner or is split between a few staff members with other responsibilities. If you are a business owner and are doing your own marketing you should consider hiring someone to do the marketing for you. Essentially, there are two main approaches: hiring an in-house marketing specialist or partnering with a marketing agency (hint, hint). The right choice depends on your budget and the scope of your marketing needs. For instance, if you’re looking for someone to focus solely on managing your social media, bringing in an in-house person might be more efficient. However, if you want to tackle multiple marketing efforts—like SEO, paid advertising, social media, and content creation—you might get more value by hiring an agency that can handle all aspects of your marketing.

If hiring a full-time marketing team isn’t an option, consider working with freelance marketers or agencies on a project basis. Freelance marketers can be found on UpWork or Fiverr and can bring expertise and help you execute campaigns without needing a full-time commitment.

Also prioritize tasks and focus on high-impact marketing activities that can be managed with your resources.

Some Final Comments

While small businesses face many marketing challenges, marketing a small business doesn’t have to be difficult, expensive, or overwhelming. By applying the strategies mentioned above, you can make marketing more manageable and effective. The key is to focus on the right marketing actions, find the perfect balance between budget, time, and effort, and position your business in a way that sets you apart from the competition. With a well-thought-out approach, you can achieve the results you desire and grow your business without breaking the bank. Remember, it’s all about making smart choices and staying consistent in your efforts.

Need Help with Your Marketing?

At Key Marketing Strategies, we understand the unique challenges small businesses face when it comes to marketing.

That’s why we offer free marketing consulting to help you find the best way to market your business. Whether you’re just starting or looking to refine your existing strategies, I am more than happy to hop on a call and discuss how to best market your business.

Reach out to us today, and let’s work together to unlock the full potential of your business!

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