Lean marketing: Why it works for small businesses.

Do you feel overwhelmed with all the shiny marketing tools/apps/services out there? Do you feel like you should be posting, blogging, emailing and speaking CONSTANTLY to get the leads you need?

The good news is that you don't have to do it all with the Lean marketing approach. This methodology allows business owners to create, implement and optimize marketing strategies that are focused and sustainable.

What is Lean marketing, anyway?

The concept of Lean marketing comes from the Lean methodology/business philosophy. Its goal is to reduce waste by doing work in short marketing cycles, or "sprints," to gather results and optimize tactics after each sprint. For example, optimizing your next email campaign after analyzing results from your last email campaign would be a way to implement the Lean marketing methodology.

Another way to apply this concept is by reducing the amount of marketing tactics you implement, allowing you to focus on the one(s) that have performed the best in the past. For instance, if you get the most leads from your website, and your growth goal is to increase your client or patient load by 10%, then by optimizing your top performing pages on your website (maybe through SEO, or maybe by re-writing your content to make your message more clear?) you could increase your website conversion to meet your goal.*

*note: It's important to note this example is oversimplified and the tactics you use depend on who your target market is and where they are in their buying journey.

Why use Lean marketing for a small business

Lean marketing can work for any business of any size. In fact, it's also used in large corporations looking to function more like a startup. It allows even large corporations to move faster and become "leaner." But, it also works well for small businesses because

1. It helps create a focused marketing strategy because you're only optimizing 1-2 channels/tactics at a time.

2. It helps a business learn from mistakes quicker, since "sprints" can be as short as 2 weeks.

3. It allows small businesses to adjust their strategy easier. If a tactic isn't working, focus on a different one.

4. It's generally more sustainable and easier to manage since it doesn't require a large marketing team to implement.

5. It minimizes wasting time and resources on tactics that don't generate the leads and revenue you want.

Create your own Lean marketing strategy

Contact us to help you create and/or implement a Lean marketing strategy for your business. We can help in three ways:

1. Consult - we can help determine which tactics to focus on

2. Guide - we can provide ongoing support and guidance, as needed

3. Implement - we can take care of the implementation, managing and tracking