Bizoh opinion: Poor marketing is damaging Dorset firms

By Andrew Knowles

Too many of our small firms are struggling, or even dying, because they refuse to invest in marketing.

I’ve lived in Weymouth for less than three years and I’ve already seen a host of bright, ambitious businesses pop up, only to wither away within months. You can probably names some of them, or you’ve seen the same happen elsewhere across the county.

Behind every failed business is a disheartened individual, couple or even family. Dreams have become ashes, relationships are strained and there’s often a legacy of debt.

Is it too bold to say that their problems could have been avoided, or at least mitigated, with some decent marketing advice and action? No, I don’t think it is. I’ve been close enough to some of these businesses to see their reluctance to spend on marketing.

Marketing is the first business action

There’s more to marketing than advertising. Marketing is about the relationship between sellers and buyers, and the very first action is to verify if that relationship is even possible. Because if the customers aren’t there, it won’t happen. Too many firms seem to open their doors in the hope that customers will turn up, rather than having genuine confidence in the demand for their product.

Setting up a business is a risk, there’s no getting away from that. Small-time entrepreneurs don’t have a lot of time or money for market research. But there’s a lot to be said for seeking, and accepting, honest opinions. If everyone says “Well, it could work...” they’re also saying “There’s a good chance it won’t”.

If you’re considering starting a business in Dorset (or anywhere else for that matter), I suggest that you talk to the local Chamber of Commerce. Ask them what marks out the start-ups that have found success, or failed, locally. Learn what you can from the experience of others, because it’s cheaper than learning from your own mistakes.

Getting the message out

Customers won’t buy your good idea. They will buy something that benefits them. But only if they know it’s available.

I could (and probably will) write a post about some of the appalling online marketing efforts by local firms. Websites that are unclear, out of date or just plain wrong. Social media campaigns that don’t justify the name because they’re nothing more than a Twitter account with a dozen posts made in 2011.

Every business needs a different marketing mix - that is, the blend of actions that will draw in customers. But too many don’t seem to give much thought to what is right for them. I’ve seen firms print and deliver thousands of leaflets, to no effect. I’ve also seen firms fail to produce leaflets, despite that being a proven marketing route for all their competitors.

My plea to all Dorset firms struggling right now, and to anyone planning to jump into a business, is please spend more time thinking about marketing. Yes, you may have to spend a little money, but that could be a lot less painful than the loss that comes with business failure.

Do you agree that many firms could do better if they improved their marketing? Or do you think local businesses are being damaged by other issues? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Gemma's Fresh Start in Online Retailing

Last year I wrote about Gemma Dawson's new online business selling fancy dress outfits and clothes.

That business failed.

Gemma (pictured right) has been willing to share her story here, to encourage other entrepreneurs to keep going in the face of adversity, and to learn from the hard lessons that business can deliver.

Having two very young children means Gemma's already got her hands full. She's young, not yet 20, and ambitious. Before going into business she wisely invested time to learn about it.

She studied Business and Management at college, tooks lots of training from BusinessLink, and researched her potential suppliers. She then launched her fancy dress and clothing websites in late 2009 and waited for the sales to come rolling in.

They didn't. Having spent £5,000 getting the business going Gemma was spending more time uploading information to the site than she was processing customer orders. Something had gone wrong.

Rather than hoping sales would improve she reassessed her plans and did more research. She found that many of her competitors in the fancy dress market also sold party supplies, so she decided to follow their example and ditched the idea of selling fashion clothing.

A couple of months ago Gemma launched two new sites, GD Party Supplies and GD Fancy Dress. This time she's engaged the services of an SEO (search engine optimisation) company to improve their visibility online and the investment is already generating results.

She's also employing a copywriter to create content and blog posts, which help generate more search engine traffic. Articles are also being placed on third-party websites, with links back to her own sites, and these are helping to build her SEO.

Gemma's advice to anyone starting a business is be willing to invest. She admits that the first time around she was afraid of spending money on SEO and copywriting. She tried to do it all herself but didn't have the right skills. Now she's paying specialists to do it she's seeing more traffic to her sites.

She also recommends that entrepreneurs get as much feedback as possible about the quality of their business website, and should not become defensive when they receive criticism. No site will please everyone all of the time, but it's still important to listen to what people say and be willing to accept that much of it is probably right.

Gemma's example is an inspiration to anyone who's been brave enough to set up their own business only to see it fail. She's learned from her mistakes and is bouncing back.