Do Sweat the Small Stuff When Marketing Your Small Business

A few weeks ago I was in a cute downtown area and I saw this day spa. It seemed to have a lot of things going for it:

• Great building (love the lights over the awning)
• Great location
• Good logo

All of these things are contributing to a strong brand in my opinion. Yet something was off.

Notice the neon colored 20% off signs in the window? How is a person supposed to relax when there are neon signs in the window? Not to mention, those signs scream desperation. And if they are desperate for clients, then maybe they are skimping on other things, too. The facility may not be as clean as it should be and maybe they haven't kept their certifcations current.

While I may not be an average customer, you see where my mind goes (to unsanitary conditions and uncertified staff) - all because of the neon signs in the window. Seems like a small thing, right? Let's have a sale and put big signs in the window so everyone who drives by will be sure to see them! This small business may not understand branding, but after reading this, I hope you do.

Every little thing you do to market your business contributes to your brand. So be careful when choosing signage for your location and graphics for your email. Think twice before photocopying a price menu or promotional piece. These seemingly small short cuts devalue your brand and hurt you more than you'll ever realize. Not only do these actions chip away at the logo you invested in, the building you've purchased, the promotional pieces you've designed in years past, but these short cuts position you as cheap and lessen the value of what you deliver. You DO need to sweat these small details when you're in small business. It's the difference between success and failure.

By the way, if you're a photographer, be sure to sign up for JoyLIVE on Monday, 8/2. Why? Well, Sarah Petty, Lori Nordstrom and Rod Evans will share 3 Quick Marketing Ideas to bring traffic into your photography business quickly. It's LIVE from 12 pm to 1 pm CST and you can even tweet your questions in to be answered by Rod, Lori & Sarah by using the #joylive hashtag. There are only room for 1,000 photogs on the call so register today.