Small Business Talk
The Podcast to Grow your Business Faster
Marketing in 2023
Show Notes
I try to have a clear topic of what I would like to talk about each week, but this week has been really difficult. How difficult in the way of it being a bad week, but difficult in the way of choosing a topic? Because I’ve been at conferences. I’ve listened to some fantastic podcasts.
I’ve listened to some great audio books. So I really couldn’t pick a clear winner. So today I think I’ll just talk about marketing in 2023. So the first thing I’d like to talk about is AI.
The AI Era
AI is the big topic, and we know that. And I’ve just been at a conference State of Social where one of the whole days was basically dedicated to AI and what different people are doing, different ways they’re doing it, and this sensational work that they’re doing, but also a cautionary note about being careful about AI, making sure that you are true to yourself and your values and your brand values, and not just letting AI takeover.
AI is a fantastic tool. It is great for amplifying what you do, but you still need the human component. You need the human to human. It’s sensational for doing things like shortening the learning curve, making it quicker for us, making all sorts of images and things that are going to be coming on. So one of the predictions is stock photos will possibly go and that’s probably not a bad thing.
AI Role in Marketing
AI is great but we do need to be very careful and we need to make sure that we have the right systems and tools in place. One of the speakers suggested that we need to treat it like a new employee. We would be training them, we would be checking their work, making sure the facts were straight, making sure that everything was correct before we put it out into the world or to our clients.
And that’s what we need to be doing with AI. We need to be treating it like a junior employee, making sure that everything is correct on brand, on target and the facts are true before we put it out. It’s great for crunching data, it’s great for getting things quickly, so use it for those kinds of purposes. Use it to amplify the good things that you’re doing and make it part of your toolbox, but not your only chatbots.
Be Authentic and Consistent
Another thing of the conference was being true, authentic and real, making sure that you are using your brand values and using them correctly, thinking about what works for you and what doesn’t, and making it very clear so that when people are interacting with you, they get that consistency right across your brand. Whether it be coming into a bricks and mortar, whether it be on social media, whether it be in any digital thing.
So even if it’s emailing, whatever it is, whatever you’re doing, make sure that they’re getting that consistency. Make sure that you are clear about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how you’re doing it. And remember that it’s a customer journey. And for a lot of it they are in charge of that. So modify it to fit them if necessary.
But customer centric is so important and it is what we need to be looking at and what we need to be doing and standing out. Just be consistent. If you can’t deliver, fantastic every time, it’s better to be consistent. It’s nothing worse than going to somewhere where it’s good one day and aweful the next. That’s how some of these big brands are making a difference.
Consider Collaboration
It’s how a lot of fast food chains get on. Whether you love him or hate them, you know, you get the same every single time. So that is really important. Another thing that’s come up over the last few days is collaborations. And yes, we know all about collaboration operations, but are we actually doing it? Are we making a win win for everybody, for you, your partners and the audience? For your clients, getting into doing things that are a little bit out of the box and makes such a difference using other people’s subcultures, your own subcultures, looking at what they’re doing and being inclusive and being authentic.
It’s no point trying to jump on a subculture if it’s so far away from your brand that it’s incredibly silly to do so. So, think about what works for your brand, your marketing, and how you can do it.
Delegating Tasks is Essential
And the other thing that came out was delegating, making sure that you’re not burning out. You don’t have to do everything. You could even outsource. It could be getting a contractor, it could be getting somebody part time to do it instead and making sure that you’re using your ability, amplifying it and doing it to the best of what you can do and what you enjoy doing.
Make sure that you’re using the right people for a certain type of task, pay them appropriately and use that time to make money in other areas for you. Yes, we all need to make money. We don’t want to have just an expensive business. And if you’re a great person, money’s not going to make you worse. And think of all the fantastic things you can do with the money. We need to put more money in the hands of good people so that we can use it well.
Marketing in 2023
Do one thing and then amplify it, then work on the next and delegate out those things that you’re spending hours and hours doing that you shouldn’t be doing. When it comes to marketing, you need to do what works for you and not what works for other people.
Listen to the full episode of Small Business Talk episode 205.
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