Most business owners understand that a comprehensive marketing strategy is a key to success.

But for small businesses, it can be difficult to dedicate resources to marketing. In fact, only just over half of all small businesses have a marketing plan.

Luckily, if you’re one of the many small businesses without a marketing plan, there are options available to you. For instance, hiring a marketing advisor can be an effective way boost your strategy without straining your capacity.

Here are five signs that it’s time for your business to hire a marketing advisor.

1. You Don’t Feel Like Your Business is Growing

Many small businesses reach a frustrating point where they feel that their growth has plateaued.

While it is important to cultivate a population of loyal customers, any business will ultimately fail without gaining new clients. An advisor will help your business continue reaching new customers.

2. You’re Not Sure Who Your Target Market is

If your business has stopped growing, it may be because you are having a hard time identifying your prospective customer base. To build an effective marketing strategy, your business must understand the persona of your buyers, and how to appeal to them.

An advisor can help your business better understand the profile of customers who frequent your business. They can also help you identify new markets that you can tap into.

3. Your Website Needs an Update

Even if you aren’t an e-commerce business, your website is still important. Your business’s online presence is the first impression to the outside world.

If your website looks old and outdated, prospective customers may assume that your business is outdated too. Freshening up your website with a new look can be a great way to attract new leads.

4. You Don’t Have an SEO Strategy

Publishing great content on your website is a great way to boost traffic and attract more customers. But if your content is not search engine optimized, prospective customers will not be able to find it.

A marketing consultant will ensure that your content is optimized based on what search engine algorithms look for. This way, your page will rank higher on search engines, which will help bring in more potential customers.

5. You Aren’t Measuring Your Marketing

The only way to know whether your marketing strategies are effective is to measure your efforts. This helps you to determine whether customers are responding to particular advertisements, website designs, and content pieces.

Marketing analytics also help you to better target the money you spend on your marketing campaigns. An advisor will help you determine what your return on investment is, and which marketing strategies are not worth the cost.

Hire a Marketing Advisor Today

If you need help with your business’s marketing strategy, hiring an outside consultant can be a great option. This can give your business an objective view of where your marketing plan needs to change.

To get started with a marketing advisor, contact us. We’ll work with you to find the perfect advisor for your business.

Empathy is the ability to truly understand someone by being able to “walk a mile in their shoes,” or see situations and events from their perspective. It’s an innate human trait that has a place in every scenario. The importance of leadership and the relationship between it and empathy cannot be understated.

We frequently wish for someone to put themselves in our place so that they’ll understand us better. However, we are less likely to do the same for others, especially in a leadership position.

Great leaders form strong relationships with their team members. Empathy, especially from a leader, is a crucial aspect of any rock-solid group.

Read on to learn why this often neglected ability is one businesses absolutely need for sustained success.

Empathy Shows You Value Relationships

Employees, no matter what their position, are first and foremost individuals. They are unique people, with their own special concerns, preferences, beliefs, and struggles.

Taking the time to acknowledge an employee or team member as a whole person will help you understand

• Workplace difficulties and how to resolve them
• Why this person takes certain approaches to problems
• What motivates this person to do better
• What role is best for this individual in a team setting
• What makes this particular person feel secure

When you value relationships with individuals, you demonstrate it by finding out who they are and what makes them tick. You show empathy for the individual.

You are not merely issuing commands. You are functioning within a relationship with a person and actively working with them to accomplish a goal.

Putting Others Before Yourself

Putting others first is critical in establishing productive work relationships. The importance of leadership that incorporates an “others first” mentality cannot be emphasized enough.

Leadership is a huge responsibility, not a display of privilege and power. Team members respond to a leader who is willing to make their individual needs and concerns a priority.

Team members will also have more respect for a leader who is aware of the types of work being performed and accompanying challenges. This gives leaders authority from credibility, not just from a title.

Empathetic leaders empower others so they can reach their full potential and succeed. They do not insist on ruling over others. The goal is to build others up so that productivity and harmony will follow.

The Importance of Leadership and Empathy in Business Success

To succeed, a business needs to have cohesiveness between leadership and team members. Close-knit relationships will lead to more trust between leaders and their team, which naturally results in better, more effective communication.

Clear communication is a positive manifestation of the established trust and loyalty that empathy encourages. Businesses make progress and maintain momentum when each tier effectually connects within the framework of a company.

The goals of a business and those of its employees align so that effort is made for the good of all, not for the power of a few.

The knowledge that leaders are there to help, not demand, motivates team members to do their best to ensure team success. They feel their role in the process is valuable.

Leadership is About Responsibility

Responsibility encompasses more than task delegation and whip-cracking. It requires a holistic approach that includes, not alienates, every contributing person. A great leader utilizes encouragement and empathy, not blame or threats.

When you can understand where someone is coming from and work with them, the business benefits as a whole.

Explore my blog for more ideas on how to become a better leader and on how to help your business grow.

Have questions about leadership, marketing, management, or other business subjects? I’ve got answers. Contact me today.