Why Business Owners Double Down on Marketing When Sales Slip
Many businesses have a peak season and a slow season. Knowing this model helps with planning for both the busy time and the slow time. However, when a business is missing the mark during what should be peak season, or overall revenue is down, it is time to take action.
Most owners think about marketing – either, “I need to market more” or “I need to cut expenses so I’ll cut marketing.” The instincts make sense. However, you may have other problems that are preventing you from leveraging your marketing and building repeat clientele.
Before deciding what to do about marketing, it makes sense to be confident that a marketing change will actually move the needle.
The Leaky Bucket Problem
Think of your business like a bucket. Marketing pours water in. But if there are holes, the bucket never fills. Here are the most common leaks I see in small and mid-sized businesses:
- Poor First Impression. When a potential customer reaches out, you need to make a great impression. What kind of response does your potential new client receive? Is the interaction friendly, professional, and timely? Is your staff prepared to interact, listen and offer them solid advice?
- Inconsistent delivery. Customers love businesses that deliver as expected. They can relax, feeling confident they don’t have to micromanage your delivery. Without clear processes, customers get different experiences depending on who they deal with. That inconsistency kills repeat business and referrals.
- Owner bottlenecks. For your business to thrive, your staff needs to be empowered to take action even when you aren’t there. If the owner still signs off on every decision, answers all questions, and is the only expert, growth stalls. Customers lose confidence in your business’s ability to deliver on your promises.
- High employee turnover. It is really hard to deliver a great experience when the majority of your staff is new. If you are losing good employees on a consistent basis, it is time to figure out what changes you need to make so you hire, train, and retain good employees you can count on.
Until these holes are patched, any decision about marketing is irrelevant.
Common Areas to Correct
Fixing leaks doesn’t mean building a giant HR department or writing 300-page manuals. It means creating minimum viable structure:
- Effective Delegation. There are tasks that only the owner or the manager can do. In order for those tasks to be executed well, the tasks that can be handed off need to be. This means learning how to delegate tasks with clarity and accountability so that you hand off with confidence.
- Documented workflows. A consistent customer experience starts with a consistent way of executing critical tasks—especially ones that impact your customer. Take the time to determine how you want these tasks done and document them. Then take the time to train your staff on exactly what you expect. Finally, add in a quality-checking process so you know if things aren’t going well before your customer does.
For as many businesses as I’ve seen with no documented workflows, I’ve seen just as many with too many or too strict workflows. The purpose of a workflow is to help your staff deliver what is expected. Often 5–7 critical processes that are well documented are more powerful than hundreds of processes that are difficult to remember. Also remember that the goal is to provide the best final result. If you owned a restaurant and wanted your waitresses to make salads, putting the lettuce on the bottom is important; whether you put tomatoes or cucumbers on next isn’t.
- Hiring and Retaining Dynamite Staff. Too often employers hire for the wrong skills. You can teach most people to make change, use your proprietary computer software, and make salads the way you want them. It is nearly impossible to teach people to be friendly, caring, detail-oriented, or conscientious. After you hire, it is important to ensure that you provide clarity and consistency so they know what’s expected. They also deserve timely and helpful feedback, a competitive compensation plan, and a path to grow with your organization. If you have high turnover, these are areas to focus on.
- Consistent leadership. Studies show that people leave bosses, not jobs or companies. People thrive in environments where they know what to expect from their leader; if you change direction constantly or have eruptions, you are unpredictable. People want to be appreciated for their work; if you think a paycheck is enough, it isn’t. A little genuine praise goes a long way to keeping your staff on board and happy. Add in regular check-ins, clear goals, and simple performance measures, and you have a formula for success.
These aren’t flashy. But they’re the difference between a business that is growing and earning repeat business and one that has a lot of first-time opportunities but little long-term success.
How Marketing and Operations Work Together
It’s not about choosing marketing or operations. It’s about sequencing and balance:
- Patch the big leaks first. Examine your organization and make the necessary changes to retain new business. If you aren’t sure what to change, ask someone you trust to examine your business—they will see things you miss.
- Keep a steady marketing baseline. Visibility matters. Even while patching leaks, maintain enough presence to stay in the market. A knee jerk reaction that results in zero marketing is just a damaging as having a leaky bucket.
- Scale marketing once the foundation holds. With systems and accountability in place, then increase your marketing to increase your business as your budget allows.
Practical Self-Check
Here are quick questions to gauge whether your business is ready for more marketing:
- Do all potential customers experience a timely response?
- Are your top 5 processes written down and followed the same way every time?
- Can your managers handle their teams without you stepping in daily?
- Is turnover under control, or are you constantly rehiring?
If the answer is “no” to two or more, focus on fixing those areas before cranking up ad spend.
The Takeaway
Marketing brings people to your door. People and processes decide whether they stay. Sustainable growth requires both. Working on your foundation is time well spent so your marketing efforts don’t pour into a leaky bucket.
If you’re not sure where your leaks are, a short assessment can make it clear. Book a Discovery Call to see which fixes will give your marketing the impact it should.
