The two make or break activities in every business is innovation and marketing.

Pretty much everything else you do in your business is a commodity, which can (and often should) be outsourced or delegated.

Your time as a business owner is extremely scarce and valuable. As such you should be laser focused on the two highest value tasks in your business - innovation and marketing.

Do You Want to Grow Your Business Rapidly?

Then you need to market it. But not just any marketing will do. In my new 1-Page Marketing Plan Course, I show you the exact techniques I've used to start, grow, and exit several multi-million dollar businesses, so you can too.

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Innovation In Business

Firstly a word about innovation – by innovation, I don’t mean re-inventing the wheel or coming up with something completely new.

In fact, I seldom recommend that, as it is expensive, risky and time-consuming.

I would much rather take something existing, which I know works, and simply replicate it with predictable results.

Innovation simply means having some unique advantage which differentiates you in the market. Something to present you as different so that you are not competing solely on price.

This could include how it is presented, packaged, financed, positioned, delivered or even what sort of guarantee or bonus comes with the product or service.

Marketing Your Way To Success

Secondly marketing. No matter how good or how different your product is, it will make no difference if your marketing stinks or is non-existent.

History is littered with examples of technically superior products that failed to gain acceptance in the market - primarily due to poor marketing. Some examples include Betamax, The Newton, and LaserDisc to name just a few.

Good, even great, products are simply not enough. Marketing must be your other major activity for business success. In fact, it should be what you, as a business owner, spend most of your time on.

I often speak to business owners who are in need of help with their marketing. Often they will start by telling me how good their product or service is - the amazing features and benefits they offer.

I often respond with this question: "When does a prospect find out that you have a great product or service?" After some umming and erring, the penny finally drops, and the reluctant answer comes out: "When they buy it."

So here's the point. No matter how good your product or service is - no one will ever know unless they actually buy it. You need to get people to buy from you so that they can experience how good your product or service actually is.

To really get good at the art of marketing you need a marketing plan. This tells you exactly what to do at each stage of the buyer journey. Make sure you've got your marketing plan locked and loaded.

Marketing & Innovating Your Business Success

So while a great product is vital for keeping your customer. You need to be an excellent marketer to actually get the customer in the first place.

If you are not yet an excellent marketer, I would urge you to develop this vital business skill.

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy our article on How to Create a Lead Magnet that Converts in 6 Steps. As a small business owner, it’s the smarter way to acquire leads for your business and build your authority.