[This is a continuation of our Marketing 101 series]
As a small business owner, you wear a lot of hats — and you don’t have a lot of time to spare. As we’ve taken you through the basics of understanding your market, and developing campaigns, you may be having a hard time figuring out what marketing initiatives to delegate to your staff, and what things to own yourself. This is a question every business owner and every professional marketer encounters.
In this post, we’ll talk about the risks — and provide some tips — about having a unified voice and message for your brand, service, or product. Regardless of who’s voicing it.
[custom_headline type=”left, center, right” level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true”] Let’s Face It: Delegation Is Difficult [/custom_headline]
When you’ve built your own business from the ground up (usually operating on your own or with a small team) delegation doesn’t always come naturally. It’s a change of pace from what you’ve become accustomed to. But, it’s something that you need to do in order to make your marketing more effective – and to save yourself from burning out.
If you’ve made it this far in our Marketing 101 series, then you’ve come to understand your audience, found your voice and story – and you and your team have all become familiar with it. In marketing, effective delegating means passing tasks and projects onto your staff so that you can focus on the “big picture” things that will help grow your business.
Again, it’s natural to experience some hesitation when it comes to passing the baton, which is why adopting this “big picture” perspective will be key to letting go. Also, keep in mind the other positives of delegating marketing responsibilities. In addition to taking some tasks off of your shoulders, you’re also affording your team the chance to take ownership, hone some new skills, and engage with your audience in a new way.
[custom_headline type=”left, center, right” level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true”] What To Delegate [/custom_headline]
If you’ve not used to delegating your marketing work, start by giving a trial task or project to a staff member you trust, or someone on your team who’s expressed a particular interest in marketing and communications. Make sure the task is clearly articulated, as well as your expectations.
Some marketing tasks that are best to pass along are:
- Posting on social media
- Blog posting
- Assembling your newsletter
- Curating email lists
- Doing basic research about your competitors and your customers
One thing to remember if you want to see success in this: trust your team. The best way to sabotage effective delegating, as well as your team’s confidence, is to become a micromanager. You want your employees to have a stake in the project, and effective delegating gives that the feeling of “ownership”.
One example for handling these trial tasks: if you’re giving someone the go-ahead to take over social media, ask them to draft some sample tweets or Facebook posts. Go over their samples and point out the ones you like best, explain why (and why not.) Opportunity to discuss style and tone, and to get comfortable with your staff member’s abilities, can help you let go while feeling more secure and will afford your team member the opportunity to ask questions so that you can get on the same page.
[custom_headline type=”left, center, right” level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true”] What To Handle Yourself [/custom_headline]
Even though delegating to your team is a must to build your marketing capacity, there are still a few things you yourself should oversee, at least until you hire a dedicated marketing manager or director. A lot of paid client and customer-facing work should stay with you, to ensure brand consistency and cost control.
Some elements of marketing to hold onto (for now) are:
- Advertising
- PR
- Brand building
- Web design
- Sales contracts and key messages
Advertising and brand building are both long-term, expensive propositions. Until you have a dedicated, experienced marketing person on staff you should keep oversight of those. The same goes with PR relations, and the development of your website. If you’re paying outside contractors for marketing-related work, you’ll want to make sure you’ve getting what you paid for.
Delegating is difficult for small business owners, especially at first. Find a system that works for you and your team, and remember to keep conversations open and be flexible in the process. By focusing on the positive and adapting as necessary, your team will feel empowered, and you’ll be able to double or triple your marketing capacity.
Is there a specific topic you’d like to see us cover? Let us know in the comments! And if you’re interested in being matched with a marketing advisor that can provide customized guidance to help grow your small business, check out our advising program at businessadvising.pcv.wpengine.com.
(image “Hands Passing baton” from tableatny)