Feeding the Small Business Ecosystem

Forgive what may seem like a bit of a theoretical argument
today. Sometimes you have to step back and get a sense of
the biggest picture in order to understand how all the
simple, practical parts relate.

Small business is often held together with sweat,
creativity and a heavy use of duct tape. (In case you ever
wondered where I came up with the term Duct Tape
Marketing.) That’s the outer reality of small business. The
inner reality, the part that most don’t see and even the
owner of the business might not understand, is more like a
living breathing ecosystem.

I didn’t really excel in science in school, but to me the
parallel is obvious. In an ecosystem, the many parts are
dependent upon each other for success. In a small business,
this is equally true and just as hard to measure and
control.

There are lots of small businesses out there that appear
healthy and happy on the outside but are being held back by
some component of the overall system. The very first thing
you must do is acknowledge this idea of dependant parts. If
one isn’t thriving, isn’t even noticed, others will suffer.

It’s very hard to have a healthy business if the employees
don’t feel appreciated. It’s very hard to have a healthy
business if clients don’t know how your business is unique.
It’s very hard to have a healthy business if your referral
partners don’t know who makes an ideal client for your
business.

There are countless examples of growing businesses that
ignore what I’m suggesting, but I wonder if they are fun
places to work and do business with?

Thinking strategically about your own small business
ecosystem requires understanding who all the players are,
the experience you want them to have with your business,
and the tools you need to employ to make this integration
happen.

First let’s take a look at the major players in the small
business ecosystem.

You may have some combination of:

Suspects – folks you’ve identified that might need what you
do

Prospects – those who have responded to your lead activities

Clients- someone who has purchased something

Advocates – purchases lots and tells others

Associates – your staff

Vendors – companies you might purchase from

Partners – companies that might help you produce a product
or co-create services and clients

You can define what each of these is in your business, but
the strongest businesses understand that they need to
embrace, feed and sell each – sometimes in order for one to
thrive. For instance, your clients will become stronger
advocates or referral sources the more they feel connected
to your community of clients, associates and partners.

One of the ways to create these connections among all of
the members of your ecosystem is to have and communicate in
no uncertain terms your firm’s unique core message. That
message should contain a clear statement about your brand
and how it’s unique and who should care. The goal then
becomes finding ways for your clients, advocates, partners,
and associates to connect to this brand in a way that feeds
them.

Technology and a host of new media tools have made the
important task of feeding and integrating all of the
parties in a small business world much easier.

Let’s cover a few examples:

Blogs allow you to produce frequently changing content and
interact with clients and prospects

Websites allow you to give access to a great deal of
educational content

Web apps like Basecamp allow you to collaborate with
clients and partners in real time

Online meeting tools like WebEx give you the ability to
hold instant virtual sales presentations and peer-to-peer
client conversations

Podcasting can open up doors to new media and give a true
voice to the people in your firm

RSS technology allows you to create dynamic content that
can be personalized to the individual

CRM systems give you the ability to track a prospect’s
education process and know when they need more

Social software can give your clients the ability to
generate marketing content for you and about you in an
environment of trust

Autoresponders can provide education and training whenever
it’s requested

Intranet styled offerings and even chat platforms make
remote and virtual communication with your suppliers and
associates simple and seamless

Content management systems can give your firm’s employees
and clients access to your entire searchable library of
documented knowledge

Streaming video and video screen capture makes providing
simple help and training a snap

I suspect you get the point from the list above, but, of
course, technology itself isn’t the answer. It is the
beautiful way in which you tap the power it possesses to
help meet and exceed your client’s expectations, build a
thriving community of partners, associates, and advocates
around your business, and generate and close more deals,
more profitably.

To do this you must embrace new tools, new media, and new
technology and figure out how to bend them to serve the
goals of feeding your unique small business ecosystem.

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John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning
blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most
Practical Small Business Marketing Guide. You can find more
information by visiting http://www.ducttapemarketing.com .