I can’t think of anything more valuable to a small business (or any business) than momentum. Who doesn’t love customers that keep coming back over periods of years?
Momentum alone can sustain your customer relationships for years or even decades at a time. Your customer service is adequate, or better. You keep your promises. Your products or services are consistent within themselves, and within the marketplace at large. Your customers are busy, and looking around to replace you isn’t a priority.
Then your buyer changes job position, retires or maybe even dies. Or the world around you evolves as new technologies are gradually (or even suddenly) adopted and what you do becomes irrelevant.
The problem with momentum is unexpected change. Sorry, but your business will change, whether you like it or not. In fact, your business probably has changed greatly, though you haven’t noticed because the changes have been incremental.
Some business models are centered around large amounts of disposable income or fads. They all evaporate under dry conditions. Don’t look for momentum here, unless your market niche is extremely focused. (That’s a hint…)
Keeping momentum going is usually easier than getting it started. That’s especially true in a difficult market environment. So focus on strategies that create momentum and/or ease the process of creating. Here’s one:
Strategy One: Build your business around the principle of honesty
Be honest. No, I don’t mean be honest with your customers and follow local codes. That’s a given.
To gain momentum, you must be honest about your business, your skills, knowledge, talents and gifts. Your company’s products and services must similarly follow suit. No amount of hallucination and no marketing strategy can replace what’s lacking or what the competition clearly does better.
On the other hand, a business with real substance at the center has a fighting chance to get a foothold, to build momentum. For many of us, this can go deep. What’s your true purpose in life? What are your blessings and what is your mission? So asks Tim Kelly in his book: True Purpose: 12 Strategies for Discovering the Difference You Are Meant to Make
And please, please don’t roll out one of those trite “mission statements” that became so popular in the 90s.
Is “purpose” a marketing strategy? There is none better. Will you still need other marketing tactics and strategies? Probably so. And they’ll be clear and simple to implement with honesty at their core.
Stay Tuned for More Strategies in this Series!
