Watching people react to a storm is telling. In fact, it’s fun envisioning strategic marketing approaches the people you witness might take running a small business.

Driving styles provide some interesting strategic marketing insights

I live in the country. Pickup trucks can be seen in almost every driveway (or lawn). With the mud and snow around here, four-wheel-drive is almost a must. So, when a storm hits, it doesn’t stop the locals from hitting the roads. Most don’t have the budget (or insurance) for collision repairs, so they adjust their speed to handle conditions. Actually, I’ve found time doesn’t seem to concern most rural folk. Admittedly, it took me by surprise at first . . . ‘yyyyep, I can do that’ . . . ‘When?’ . . . ‘oh, I’ll be over there sometime’ . . . ‘This week?’ . . . ‘probably so . . .’.  You get used to it. Anyway, it’s probably no surprise the Podunk residents plod along in bad weather, figuring they’ll get to their destination eventually. Not a bad strategy for business success if you’re a patient sort.

The pickups don’t worry me – it’s the SUVs. Why is it that those who drive SUVs (usually ‘city folk’ as they like to say in the sticks) think they can turn, stop and get traction on ice traveling 60 mph? These pilots tailgate, pass on bends and can usually be seen stuck in a ditch ‘up the road a bit.’ Reminds me of the dot com boon to bust and today, spammers. Their strategic thinking is probably along the lines of, ‘Trampling and conning on my way up is the fastest way to ensure I’m not coming down.’ Right. Used to be direct mail campaigns that netted a 1% – 3% conversation rate were deemed wildly successful. I imagine the majority of bandwagon ‘social media’ hawkers don’t see number near there. Small business can’t afford a shotgun approach (time is your most precious asset) – nor the bad will it creates with the other 99%.

You see marketing concepts watching people shovel

Shovelers amuse me. Some take pride in brooming every speck of snow or plowing an inch or two of accumulation. The next day they land on their bum or are spinning wheels up an impassable driveway after daytime sun has melted snow to water and nighttime cold provided a slick, smooth layer of ice. Sometimes, you can spend too much time on appearances while disregarding function or interest. No matter what you say, show or invent, if it doesn’t do what people need – or pitches a product or service to an audience that isn’t buying, you’ll fail. That’s not to say appearance and message doesn’t matter. It’s critical with good strategic marketing. What it does mean, though, is no amount of elegant fluff is going to help you if you’ve created a business that doesn’t help people get where they want to go.

Of course, there are always those who wait for nature to take its course. They spend extra daily hours climbing across deep snow they didn’t shovel, digging their car out of the driveway traps, drying out clothes soaked from treks across the yard and cursing the weather for their troubles. These guys wonder why providence didn’t come knocking on their small business door. It’s the build it and they will come mentality. There’s more competition for limited time and money today than ever before. If you don’t make outreach a priority, it’ll be tough creating a viable small business.

Delegators get small business success – or not

Delegators are probably the biggest crowd. Hiring quality providers can mean the difference between delight and frustration. Often, people don’t notice so much when someone provides outstanding service, but curse the soul (that they figured was a find for the fee) who shows up late or not at all, stacks snow along access paths and comes to clear an inch to grab that quick buck. Hiring the wrong people will make you miserable – no matter how cheap the fees (although high-priced doesn’t necessarily mean good). Outsourcing to high integrity people aligned with your priorities can make your day. Smart small business owners understand how much more effective they can be when given time to handle the tasks they do best. Finding a great support team to help run and represent your company can be one of the most powerful strategic marketing decisions you make as a small business owner.

Honestly, it took me time to learn how to delegate effectively (this can be a challenge for entrepreneurs, who tend to be Type As). Identifying the right people and engaging them to help support company activities – and coffers – was not only liberating but also improved my quality of life (on so many levels).

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