I am a huge supporter of the little guy; the underdog.  I think it comes from being Scottish.  You can’t come from such a sport-challenged tiny country without developing a keen ability to lean on the uniting feeling of hope rather than celebratory nature glory as a source of enjoyment.  Thankfully, in the world of small business,  BIG doesn’t necessarily mean better.

It’s just as well really, as few of us can afford the massive advertising campaigns needed to make our brands household names.  But every business, regardless of size,  can afford to reach their audience.  It is just a question of being smart.

Many small businesses cite a lack of capital to invest in marketing as a reason for failure, but I believe that few things are that simple.  While having more money certainly makes marketing easier and faster, if you are willing to put in a bit more effort then small results can build in time.

We have become brainwashed by numbers in recent months.  Everyone is desparate to have thousands of followers and fans.  We have become obsessed with the quantity of online stalkers we can command, rather than the quality of sales leads that these mobs might translate into.

Wouldn’t you rather interact with 100 people who fall into your target market, than try to get your message across to an untold few potential leads within a noisy mass of window shoppers and passersby?

Language plays a role too.  Just as Seth Godin touched recently on the notion of the public becoming numb to over-exposed marketing hype or charity campaigns, so too have we become numb to the overuse of sales slogans.  Buzz words which were once touted as being effective ‘call to actions’ have now become tired; more likely to become ‘cues to click away’ .

For example, do we really believe every Adword that shouts ‘Free!’ ‘Best’ or ‘Exclusive’?

Especially in times of economic downturn, small businesses are often better equipped than huge impersonal corporations to react to change and meet the demands of their customers.   Use your small size as a stregnth and leverage the power of interacting with your loyal followers and updating your fans with personal, valuable content.

The moral of the story?  Don’t be afraid to start small, think small, act small to get big results.

{image by chrissi}