• Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • Shop Local video
  • SaveYour.Town

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

A row of small town shops
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS

Balance Your Marketing Presence

By Glenn Muske

Balance

Photo (CC) by Alex Holyoake, on Flickr

To many business owners, marketing feels like a numbers game. Too little and no one knows you exist. Too much and your potential customer feels bombarded.

So business owners are forced to look for balance in their marketing.

Yet balance is not something that can be readily achieved. It begins with knowing your customer base. Questions on where they might see your message come into play. Also, every individual will have a different levels of tolerance for how often they want to see your business message. But even that item is not static as if I, the customer, am in the market for something, I am willing and even anxious to gather more information than if your message is just one more ad I see in the daily jumble.

Tolerance also depends on what you are sending as a message. Is it just about selling or do you include other types of messages in your marketing mix? Might it add some humor to my day or touch some emotion. Yet other people just want the facts.

Also, trying to attract new customers requires more messages than when you are retaining existing customers. And the messages may differ with focused, directed messages for existing customers and more broadly distributed messages when trying to attract new customers.

Thus balance becomes necessary.  Having sheer numbers or certain ad types or placement in the right media will not guaranteed business success.

And remember that what works for marketing today may not be the answer tomorrow.

Don’t focus on just one goal or assume that one customer represents all of your market. Focus on your marketing goals. Identify your general customer and some of major sub-categories of customers. Do more than just a sales pitch in your effort.

Marketing brings success if you can find the balance.

 

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Glenn Muske

Glenn Muske is an independent expert on rural small business, working as GM Consulting – Your partner in achieving small business success. He provides consulting, and writes articles for county extension agents and newspapers across North Dakota. Previously, he was the Rural and Agribusiness Enterprise Development Specialist at the North Dakota State University Extension Service – Center for Community Vitality.
  • Change - December 26, 2018
  • Regular Customers Form Your Base - December 12, 2018
  • Disasters: Is Your Small Business Ready? - December 5, 2018
  • Business Startup: Steps to Remember - November 28, 2018
  • HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM SMALL BIZ SURVIVAL - November 21, 2018
  • Finding a Business Idea - November 14, 2018
  • Does Your Networking Have Punch? - November 7, 2018
  • Build Tomorrow’s Community Business Sector - October 24, 2018
  • Are You Changing? - October 17, 2018
  • Is it really a deal? - October 10, 2018

February 28, 2018 Filed Under: marketing, rural, Small Biz 100, success Tagged With: effective marketing, makreting, marketing success, small business, small business marketing

Wondering what is and is not allowed in the comments?
Or how to get a nifty photo beside your name?
Check our commenting policy.
Use your real name, not a business name.


Don't see the comment form?
Comments are automatically closed on older posts, but you can send me your comment via this contact form and I'll add it manually for you. Thanks!

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

If you would like permission to re-use an article you've read here, please make a Reprint Request.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

Shop Local

Buy local buttonReady to set up a shop local campaign in your small town? You'll need a guide who understands how we're different and what really works: Shop Local Campaigns for Small Towns.

Best of Small Biz Survival

What is holding us back? Why does every project take so long in small towns?

How any business can be part of downtown events by going mobile

Concert-goers talking and enjoying the evening in downtown Webster City, Iowa.

Why do people say there’s nothing to do here then not come to our concerts?

Retailers: Fill all empty space, floor to ceiling

More of the best of Small Biz Survival

Copyright © 2023 Becky McCray
Front Page · Log in