Help! What To Do When You Don’t Have Time To Market Your Business.

As a small business owner, your to-do list can feel never-ending. Juggling sales, overseeing operations, serving customers, managing staff, and maintaining quality often pushes marketing to the back burner—especially for service-based businesses that rely on referrals to grow.

But, your marketing should never be an afterthought!

While strong word-of-mouth referrals are beneficial, effective marketing is essential for connecting with new audiences and keeping your business top of mind. Relying solely on referrals can limit your growth opportunities but a well-planned marketing strategy expands your visibility and brings in a continuous stream of new clients.

The good news is that you don’t need to dedicate hours each week to see meaningful marketing results for your service-based business. With the right strategy and tools, you can efficiently market your business, even with a tight schedule.

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s dive into some practical and simple marketing techniques that can easily fit into your busy schedule. We will discuss everything from your target audience to email marketing to social media to using marketing automation to help you connect with your target audience without sacrificing your precious time.

So let’s go!

Who Is My Target Audience and What Does that Have to do with Marketing My Business?

We harp on this all the time! Literally, it’s in a bunch of our videos and emails so let’s break it down one more time. Your target audience consists of the individuals you aim to attract and who will benefit from your services.

Just a FYI your target audience can’t be everyone because when you try to attract everyone, you end up attracting no one.

We know you think we are crazy but hear us out.

Your target audience can’t be everyone because we don’t all have the same wants, desires, or needs. This means the services you offer aren’t needed or wanted by everyone.

Imagine you run a commercial cleaning business and decide to run a Facebook ad to attract law offices. However, instead of connecting with those targeted clients, you end up receiving inquiries primarily from homeowners seeking residential cleaning services. If this cleaning company would have clearly identified their target audience, they would have been able to communicate effectively and attract the right leads to grow their business.

Let’s look at Target. On the service level, Target looks like their target audience is everyone but when you look closer you see they actually market to middle-aged women, who have a college education with a medium household income of $80,000.

This doesn’t mean a middle-aged man can’t shop at Target, but Target understands that middle-aged women are their primary customers so they are laser-focused on creating strategies to bring in products, improve store layouts, product placement within the store, lighting, cleanliness, and their ads hit at the right time so that they can keep middle-aged women in their stores longer resulting in making more money.

So how do I define or create my target audience?

Take a moment and think about the type of customer you enjoy working with. Here are some questions to guide you as you define your ideal client.

• How old are they
  • An age range is fine
• What is their gender
• Where do they live
  • city
  • country
  • geographic area such as the Southeast
• What are they interested in
  • Sports
  • Travel
  • Religion
  • Crafting
  • Reading
  • Something else
• Do they have kids
• Are they married
• Do they have a college education
  • Do they have advanced degrees
• Where do they spend their time online
  • Reddit
  • Social media and if so what platforms
  • YouTube
• What type of position are they in at work
  • C-Suite executives
  • Blue collar

As you are thinking about these questions, it‘s helpful to create a customer profile from your answers, which is a breakdown of your ideal customer. 

Keep in mind that the more you know about your ideal customer, the better you have of reaching them with your marketing efforts.

For example here is one of our customer profiles:

John, 40, owns a contracting business in an Atlanta suburb. He wants to expand his contracting business into a new area, hire another crew, and get out of the day-to-day operations so he can spend more time with his family. In his free time, he enjoys volunteering in his community, traveling, watching UGA football, the Braves, and watching videos on Instagram.

This customer profile enables us to connect more effectively with John. By understanding his preferences and needs, we can tailor our communication and engagement strategies, ultimately helping us attract more customers similar to him.

Now that you have your target audience, what’s next?

Create a Winning Marketing Strategy to Market Your Business

We can sense your reluctance, as this feels like tedious homework but resist the temptation to skip ahead to the “practical tips”—trust us, this groundwork will pay off in the end.

Fewer than five percent of all businesses in the US grow to be more than $1 million in annual revenue and fewer than one percent make it to $10 million. Meaning a business without a strategy won’t make it to the $1 million mark.

So the million dollar question, pun intended, is how do I create a marketing strategy?

First, create business goals

The first thing you need to do is to set business goals. What are you working towards? Where do you want your business to go? We would recommend starting small and focusing on the next 6 to 12 months so it’s not so overwhelming.

After establishing your goals, it’s time to outline the route—your marketing strategy—to achieve them. With the insights you’ve gathered, you should now understand where your target audience spends their time, their challenges, and the best ways to communicate with them. This allows you to concentrate your efforts effectively in the right areas.

How to create your marketing strategy

Your marketing strategy should be a breakdown of what you need to do to achieve your goals.

For example, we want to sign 10 new commercial clients for our cleaning business in the next 90 days. Okay, what do we need to do to achieve this? We found a lot of success with personal letters so let’s write and deliver 50 personal letters in the next 30 days to our target audience, join and contribute to conversations happening in Facebook, make sure the website has an offer for new clients and a way to capture their email addresses and create an email marketing campaign to nurture my current clients and new leads.

Your list could be similar or it could be very different from the example above but once you know what you need to do, you can create a timeline for when things need to get done over the course of your business goal so you can assign tasks to team members to do the work. This way your team knows the plan and who’s responsible for doing the work.

Basically your marketing strategy is your guide to growth and remember to check its progress every 2 – 6 months. Look at your data and stats and see what’s working and what’s not so you can adjust your strategy to maximize your impact.

Keep in mind that all this initial effort enables you to minimize the time spent on marketing each week. Our goal is to make the most of your limited availability, allowing you to achieve significant results and drive your business toward its objectives.

Email + SMS Marketing

When a client engages with your services, you get their email address and phone number. So, why not leverage that direct line of communication to maintain contact?

Did you know:

• Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer.
• Increasing customer retention by 5% can increase profits from 25-95%.
• The success rate of selling to a customer you already have is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is 5-20%.

With these statistics in mind, it’s a no brainer that you have to maintain a relationship with your current clients and the best way to do that is through email marketing and SMS marketing because it’s a direct line of communication. You don’t have to rely on them seeing a social media post, hearing your commercial, getting your mailer, etc.

The beauty of email marketing is you can automate it so once it’s set up, it does not require too much upkeep and can be scheduled months in advance. You can create a series of emails to be sent based on specific triggers, such as when someone signs up for your newsletter or makes a purchase. Here are some ideas for your automated campaigns:

• Regular Newsletters: Craft a monthly or bi-weekly newsletter that features industry tips, project highlights, or community involvement updates (like your volunteering activities). This keeps your audience engaged without requiring constant content creation.
• Promotions and Discounts: Send targeted promotional emails based on customer behavior or seasonal events. Time-sensitive offers can prompt immediate action and boost sales without much effort.
• Welcome Series: Introduce new subscribers to your brand with a welcome email that outlines what they can expect from you. Follow up with emails showcasing your best products or services and testimonials from satisfied clients.
  

Social Media

While email marketing provides an effective way to maintain direct communication with your customers, social media can serve as a powerful tool for expanding your reach and finding new customers.

If you are like most business owners we work with then you are short on time but we wanted to share some ways you can still post on social media without spending a significant amount of time.

Schedule Posts

Did you know that you can create and schedule posts on Facebook at no cost? Additionally, tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, and Later enable you to plan your social media content in advance. By setting aside just a few hours each month, you can craft and schedule posts across multiple platforms, including Instagram and Facebook. This ensures that your social media channels stay vibrant and engaging, all without requiring daily time commitments from you.

What your posts should focus on:

• Highlighting Your Services: Regularly feature your offerings, ideally with visually appealing images or videos.
• User-Generated Content: Encourage customers to share their experiences with your products, and post them to showcase authenticity.
• Community Engagement: Share relevant community events or involvement initiatives that resonate with your audience.
  
  

Repurposing Content

You can maximize your content marketing efforts by repurposing existing materials. Take a blog post or newsletter and break it down into bite-sized social media updates. This approach allows you to create one piece of content and use it in a bunch of different ways so you aren’t always having to come up with something new to post.

Bonus tip is to repurpose content from six months ago. We can’t remember what we ate for dinner two nights ago let alone what your business posted on social media 6 months ago. This approach also helps new followers understand your offerings while keeping your brand top of mind with your existing audience and when you are in a busy season, it’s a great way to have something to post without having to create something new.

Keep Your Website Up-To-Date

Your website is an essential team member and like your other staff members, it’s crucial to check your website regularly to ensure it’s functioning effectively and fulfilling its responsibilities.

What does all of that mean?

Fix Broken Links

Broken links can severely affect your website’s credibility and usability. They frustrate visitors and can lead to a higher bounce rate, negatively impacting your SEO performance (your website rankings on Google). The easiest way to find broken links is to do an SEO audit. You can use tools like ahrefs.com or fill out the form on our website and we will audit your website for you.

Update Outdated Content

Over time, content can become outdated, which might turn potential customers away. Whether it’s service descriptions, blog posts, or company news, revisiting and refreshing content can offer new perspectives and keep your audience engaged. Make it a priority to update key pages with the latest information, seasonal promotions, and relevant industry news. This not only boosts your search engine rankings but also demonstrates to customers that you’re actively invested in delivering valuable information.

Importance of Regular Updates

1. User Engagement: Frequent updates encourage returning visitors and enhance user engagement. Customers are more likely to revisit your site if they see new content or updates.
2. SEO Benefits: Search engines favor websites that are regularly updated. Fresh content signals to search engines that your website is active, which can lead to better rankings.
3. Enhanced Credibility: An up-to-date website fosters trust and credibility with your audience. Customers are more likely to engage with a business that appears professional and attentive to details.
4. Time Efficiency: While it may seem daunting, updating your website doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Once you establish a system for routine checks — perhaps every 3-6 months — you can quickly address any necessary changes or fixes. This means that after the initial effort, you can enjoy the benefits of a fresh website without constant upkeep.
   

Ways to Automate Your Marketing

Time is a precious commodity and fortunately, marketing automation can help you maximize your efforts without sacrificing significant time. Here are some effective ways to automate your marketing strategies:

1. Email Marketing Automation
   • Utilize platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or Rooted Design’s Marketing Platform to schedule and send targeted emails. Set up automated welcome emails for new subscribers, birthday or anniversary emails with special offers, and follow-up messages after purchases to maintain engagement without manual effort.
     
2. Social Media Scheduling
   • Tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, and Later allow you to plan and schedule your social media posts in advance. Draft a month’s worth of posts on a day when you have time, then schedule them to go live automatically. This way, you ensure a consistent social media presence without needing daily attention.

3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
   • A CRM system, like Salesforce, Zoho, or Rooted Design’s Marketing Platform streamlines your customer interactions. Use these platforms to automate follow-ups, client reminders, and track customer interactions. This can save you time and help maintain a personalized connection, which is crucial for lead nurturing.

4. Content Curation Tools
   • Use content curation tools like Feedly or Pocket to discover relevant articles, blogs, and industry news that you can share with your audience. These platforms aggregate content based on your interests, allowing you to easily find and schedule valuable content to post on your channels without spending hours searching.

5. Automated Reporting
   • Apply tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, or SEMrush to automate your marketing performance reports. Instead of manually compiling metrics every month, set up automated reports to receive insights on your website traffic, social media engagement, and email campaign performance straight to your inbox. This helps you make informed decisions without investing additional time in data collection.
     

Focus on High-Impact Marketing Strategies

When you’re short on time, it’s crucial to focus on marketing strategies that provide the highest return on investment (ROI). Here are a few high-impact methods to consider:

1. Leverage Existing Customers
   • Your current customers are your best advocates. Focus on strategies that encourage referrals, such as customer loyalty programs or referral incentives. A simple request for a review or a referral can yield great results without requiring substantial effort.
2. Content Repurposing
   • Instead of creating new content from scratch, repurpose your existing content. Break down a long blog post into bite-sized social media posts, or compile several related articles into an eBook. This strategy saves time while extending the reach of your original content.

3. Networking and Partnerships
   • Spend time building relationships with other businesses that complement yours. Strategic partnerships can enhance your reach and expose your brand to new audiences. Collaborations can include guest blogging, co-hosting events, or sharing each other’s content, all of which require minimal effort once the partnership is established.

4. Utilize Video Marketing
   • Video content is increasingly popular and effective. You can create simple videos explaining your services or products using smartphone apps like CapCut, InShot, or Adobe Spark. Once created, these videos can be shared across multiple platforms easily, keeping your audience engaged without the need for continuous content creation.
     

Set Realistic Goals and Prioritize

To better manage your time while marketing your business, setting clear and attainable goals is essential. Here’s how to do it effectively:

1. Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
   • Determine which metrics matter most to your business’s success, such as website traffic, social media engagement, or conversion rates. Focus your efforts on activities that drive those KPIs, and regularly review your performance in these areas to keep your strategy aligned with your objectives.
2. Create a Marketing Calendar Using Your Marketing Strategy
   • Create a marketing calendar that outlines when you will perform various marketing activities, like email campaigns, social media posts, and content updates. Planning ahead enables you to allocate specific times for these tasks, ensuring they don’t get lost in your busy schedule.

3. Break Tasks into Manageable Chunks
   • Large tasks can be overwhelming, especially when you have limited time. Break down your marketing activities into smaller, actionable steps. Instead of “create a social media strategy,” you might break it down into “research competitor strategies,” “draft 5 post ideas,” and “schedule posts for the week.” This approach makes tasks feel more manageable and encourages progress.
     

To Wrap It All Up

Finding time to market your business effectively can seem impossible, but with the right strategies and tools, it becomes manageable. Prioritize your efforts, focus on automation, leverage existing resources, and set realistic goals to streamline your marketing processes. Remember, the key is consistency and efficiency; even small, deliberate actions can lead to significant growth over time. By implementing these strategies, you can cultivate a strong marketing presence for your business without compromising your schedule.