Small Business Marketing Needs to Change After 'Worst Decade Ever'

0 Comment(s) | Posted Nov 30, 2009 by Peter Wylie

Peter Wylie

Time Magazine recently released an issue with a cover story entitled “The 00s: A Decade From Hell,” which labels the 2000s the “Worst Decade Ever” for the U.S.  With the recent financial upheaval, two ongoing wars and the list of tragedies that the nation underwent in the past 9.9 years, it’s tough to argue with the general assessment.

On a specific professional level, Time doesn’t seem to be too kind to the emerging media practitioner, either:  “And yes, we couldn't get enough of them on the 24-hour cable news, blogs and reality TV that chronicle and reflect this unsavory maw. The rise of all manner of new media and the lack of barriers to criticism from the blogosphere seemed to intensify every scandal and left very few public figures unsullied.”

The article got me thinking about the state of the union for small business owners as they face uncertain times in a new decade.  Has this decade been the “worst ever” for your small business?

While the path behind has been rocky, I am optimistic about the outlook in 2010 and beyond for small businesses.  Globalization and the rise of the conglomerate posed big threats to the small business owner who struggled to compete with the lower prices that the big guys could deliver.

But I think people are slowly going to refocus on community relationships and connectivity as the new decade dawns.  The big guys have a profound disadvantage when it comes to the relationship building and customer service that small business owners offer.

Now, with the number of people using social networking tools and the amount of time they spend using them growing rapidly, small businesses can take advantage of blogs, Facebook, and Twitter to foster personal relationships that lead to repeat business and customer loyalty.  If small businesses spend time interacting with their customers online—where they increasingly share opinions and give recommendations—they can introduce themselves to new groups of potential clients.

If small businesses neglect these new marketing channels, I’m afraid they stand the risk of having the 2010s be every bit as bad as the “Worst Decade Ever.”  People are changing the way they research the things they buy.  Are you updating your small business marketing efforts to match?

- Pete

Filed under: Emerging Media, Online Communities, Small Business