Monday, 1 April, 2025
Sydney, Australia

Howdy.

You know, one of the most common but concerning failures I see among small business owners is their approach to getting new customers and/or repeat business.

And it’s actually been that way pretty much since I can remember. So not much has changed.

But what has changed are the consequences of said failures.

These days, there’s just way too much competition, and the costs of running a business are way too high, to get away with this for too long.

This very thing actually happened to an acquaintance just six months ago. After more than ten years running his one-man transport business, the wheels fell off . . . so to speak.

He just wasn’t bringing in the customers like he needed to, and that was that. He parked his whole operation and started looking for a job.

Still is.

It’s sad, but true.

Like I said, it’s tough out there.

Small business owners who aren’t on the ball are getting punished left right and centre. I see it all the time.

We’re talking service businesses like plumbers, auto repairers, electricians, accountants, etc., brick-and-mortar retailers, restaurants, cafes, and so on.

No one’s immune.

People really need to start pulling their socks up.

Let’s start with the worst offenders.

This group basically uses a very simple business-building strategy that’s quite easy to implement: they do nothing.

That’s right.

They don’t do anything whatsoever to get new customers or repeat business.

Oh sure, they might have a sign or two out front. Maybe even a website. But beyond that, they just sit and pray.

Among this group, location, location, location is everything. Because without people literally stumbling across them, no one’s ever going to know they even exist.

And as you know, location don’t come cheap.

Now, I’m not saying that a business is throwing cash down the crapper by pitching their tent in a prime location.

Not at all.

But they absolutely are if they’ve got their sweet little butt parked there but aren’t doing their damnedest to leverage it to the best of their ability.

By being smart about pulling in beaucoup (that’s French – look it up) customers, and keeping them coming back over and over again.

No one can afford to fork out big bucks anymore and then just happily sit and play the waiting game.

Doing nothing is no longer an option.

Running a small business can be very unforgiving. And many business owners are far from satisfied with the money they take home, and the amount of time and energy they expend to get it.

A lot of them do an outstanding job of providing their customers with great products or services. But sadly, they lack the knowledge, skills, savvy and experience to get enough coming through the door and keep them coming back.

It used to be that being good at what you do or selling great products could at very least assure your business kept its head above water.

But not today.

Our fried fish is tastier than Greasy Joe’s fried fish across the road.

That’s great. A handful of people might even agree with you, and choose your fish over Joe’s two times out of three.

Congratulations.

But what about the hundreds of other people who don’t have the faintest idea whose fish is better? Because no one has told them.

Or what about all the people who don’t even realise that you and Joe are even there in the first place? Because no one has told them.

Even the best business in the world will struggle and even go broke without both a loyal customer base and a steady flow of new customers coming in.

So then, what’s the answer?

This is the work that will pay you the biggest rewards for your invested time and energy.

This is the work that will give your business the biggest advantage over its competitors.

I know, I know . . . you’re a mechanic, or a plumber, or a restaurateur, or a clothing salesperson. You’re not a marketer.

Well, the cold, hard truth is that you need to be.

No one knows or cares about your business, and knows or cares about your customer, quite like you do. That qualifies you as the best person for the job.

Besides, as the business owner the responsibility for its performance ultimately falls on your shoulders.

Don’t think for a minute that you can just hire and trust some self-proclaimed “marketing expert” online and leave it to Beaver.

Sorry, you’re going to have to be involved.

It’ll most likely mean having to start learning something about advertising and marketing. Especially if you don’t know a great deal now.

Read books, watch (carefully chosen) YouTube videos, do some courses. Or get some help to guide you. But again, choose carefully. Get references – from people you know and trust.

Whatever. Just do it.

But of course, it doesn’t end there.

Because the fact is, scores of small business owners have long since taken that step of dipping their big toe into them there marketing waters, and yet still struggle to bring in new customers.

Why?

Because regrettably, they instead join the second group of small business screwer-uppers – those who subscribe to the “monkey-see, monkey-do” school of advertising.

They’re the small business owners who fall for the belief that by copying what big brands or chains do, they can ride on the coat-tails of the “experts” to get more customers of their own. Or probably even worse, they copy their competitors, who are often themselves copying the big business brands or chains.

So it becomes a case of the blind leading the blind, with everyone’s advertising costing an arm and a leg yet failing miserably. And of everyone’s business slowly going to hell in a hand basket.

And here’s why.

Big brand businesses and big chains use a type of advertising that aims to build brand awareness on a large scale. It’s only purpose it to let people – a lot of people, know that the business exits.

That’s fine for big businesses.

Their customers are spread far and wide, so their ads need to cast a wide net. Of course, that’s very expensive. But they have the advertising budget to pull it off. Because they do business on a grand scale.

You don’t.

So for you, following this approach is a surefire ticket to financial ruin.

Why fork out good cash letting everyone in your country, state, or even local area know about your business, when only a fraction of them would be interested in doing business with you in the first place?

You simply can’t afford to spray your advertising message into the ether, because the majority of your advertising dollars will literally be falling on deaf, uninterested ears.

The best thing about direct response marketing is that it’s free.

That’s right. You don’t pay for it. When it’s done right.

Because direct response marketing pays for itself. For every dollar you put in, it pays back more than a dollar.

Preferably, many times more.

Doesn’t that sound like a lot more fun than simply broadcasting to the world, “Here I am . . . come buy my shit . . . because I’m very cool!” and hoping for the best? When your hard-earned money’s on the line?

You bet it is.

This is a very powerful, very effective form of marketing that all small businesses should be utilising. And it’s the very opposite of what the big businesses and big chains are doing.

It happens when they try to cut corners by copying someone else.

It’s expensive, and it’s very ineffective.

Once you’re able to identify who your business’s target market is however, where they are and what they want, you’re a step closer to having a successful and effective marketing plan that’s specific to your business.

Start by identifying your best current customers. Then put together a detailed profile that paints a clear picture of exactly who they are. Here are some basic questions that might help you:

This list is by no means exhaustive. And of course, you should add questions that relate to your specific area of business.

Once you’re able to answer the questions on your list, it simply becomes a matter of finding more of the same people and communicating with them directly.

Through direct response marketing.

Where you measure the effectiveness of each piece of advertising and marketing by recording its individual cost and results.

In this way you can not only focus on targeting the people that will bring in the most business for you, but use the most cost-effective advertising and marketing strategies to find them.

Hopefully you can see how targeting your marketing efforts in this way will allow you to attract far more valuable customers for your business on a far smaller advertising budget.

But it doesn’t end there.

There’s actually much more you can do as a small businesses owner on top of this to multiply your profits further. Sadly, however, it’s yet another valuable strategy that many fail to capitalise on.

Too many small business owners simply underestimate and/or under-utilise the value they already have in their existing customers.

The fact is, existing customers are an extremely valuable asset to your business. Regardless of what area you’re in.

If you’ve never thought about the lifetime value of a customer in your business, you should. It isn’t hard to work out.

Think again about your best current customers. Estimate how long one will typically be a customer of yours, on average. Then figure out how much profit your business will make from her over that period of time.

That’s your customer’s lifetime value.

Simple.

While bringing a constant, steady stream of new customers into your business is vitally important, and something it can’t survive without, you’ll find

Think about it.

You don’t need to spend a single cent to find your current customers. You already have a connection with them. All you need to do is create and nurture a valuable business relationship with them in which you BOTH benefit.

Not just you. Them as well.

If you want them to keep coming back.

The amount of profit that’s left on the table by small business owners who fail to capitalise on this is simply staggering.

One of the very best tools for making that connection with your customers, I believe, is sending them a fortnightly or monthly newsletter.

It can be either by mail or by email. Whatever is most appropriate and suits you best.

I prefer this approach to relying on social media because it allows a far more personal and intimate connection. It ensures that you have them, and their attention, to yourself.

It’s much too easy for people to get lost in the sea of distractions that pervades social media, which can sometimes be kind of like trying to get someone’s attention at a rave party.

Through a newsletter, you can really build on the connection with your customers by telling them your story and any news about your business. It can help grow a personal connection between them and your business and you as the owner.

Think about the possibilities.

You can tell them about other products or services you have available. Or of special promotional discounts for member customers. You can invite them to join your referral program. What about asking for their feedback or suggestions for your business?

If you’re a service provider, you can give your members regular valuable tips and advice. That’s something a lot of them will really appreciate. It’ll make you their go-to guy.

An accountant can give tax-saving tips. An auto-repairer can give cost-saving car maintenance advice. A restaurant can profile any new dishes, and talk about their background and which part of the world the dishes come from.

The sky’s the limit.

If your business transactions with your customers involve you acquiring their contact details, that makes things easy. Just starting sending your newsletter whenever your ready.

Otherwise, find an excuse to get their contact details. How about getting them to sign up for a prize draw for a free meal, which you run each week or each fortnight?

It will be well worth it for the connections you make.

Hopefully you’re starting to see just how much you can achieve by simply taking the initiative to focus some effort on marketing in your small business.

I can’t emphasise enough how important this stuff is to your business’s survival and growth.

So to summarise, here are the three key rules you need to remember and follow:

1) You MUST involve yourself in marketing your business. It’s by far the most effective use of your time for your business’s success.

2) Your business advertising MUST be measurable and focused on your specific target market. It can’t be broad and general, which is both ineffective for small businesses and expensive.

3) You MUST build and nurture a relationship with your customers to maximise their lifetime value.

Don’t follow in the footsteps of so many small business owners who neglect these and pay the ultimate price.

You know what to do, now go out and do it.

Until next time,

Fabian.