As a small business owner for over 10 years, I’ve learned that ownership teaches you more than any business degree ever could. Payrolls, proposals, late nights, pivots, and people; you not only learn from it, but it all shapes you.
But over the years, there’s one thing I’ve seen over and over again: Marketing isn’t a department or a set of tasks. It’s a mindset. You’ve probably seen business owners who are radically successful. The one thing I’ve noticed that they all have in common is that they are amazingly good at telling their story.
With that in mind, here are 7 lessons I’ve learned about how to tell your story in a way that connects.
1. If you don’t tell your story, someone else will.
This seems like an obvious place to start. Don’t let someone else tell your story, and get it wrong. Branding isn’t just a logo; it’s how people talk about you when you’re not in the room. Own the narrative. Tell your own story the way you want it to be told. Tangibly, this means being active in your organization’s communications.
2. Help people “categorize” you.
This is the number one thing I share with new business owners: help people know where you fit. If your business feels obscure, hard to nail down, people will have an equally hard time figuring out how to hire you or refer you to someone else.
3. Integrity isn’t a buzzword.
People have a really good nose for BS, and they know when you only have your best interest at heart. Doing the right thing is always the best business decision. At Juxt, we sometimes make mistakes, but we own them and do everything we can to make them right. People enjoy working with companies they can trust.
4. Consistency is currency.
At the end of the day, a prospective client is trying to decide if they can trust you: trust you to deliver, to do what you say you can, to be on time and on budget. Every inconsistency, whether it’s an old logo, a typo, a proposal with someone else’s name on it, erodes that trust. I’ve made six-figure deals over text message because the client trusted me, and I had been consistent in serving them.
5. Good marketing helps someone make a choice, even if it’s not you.
Good marketing clearly defines what you do and how you make the client’s world better. It can also clearly define what you don’t do. There’s something helpful and human about being honest in your marketing and helping a client quickly and easily identify if you are what they were looking for.
6. Relationships drive results.
Most of our growth at Juxt hasn’t come from ads. It comes from real relationships, nurtured with consistency, care, honesty, authenticity, and clear communication. It’s about understanding what keeps your client up at night and working to understand and solve their challenges.
7. Marketing is an investment, not an expense.
When done right, it pays for itself. The real cost? Going unnoticed.
At Juxt, we’ve worked with organizations across industries, from nonprofits to large organizations and small businesses, and the most successful ones treat marketing as a core part of their business, not an afterthought. If you’re not sure where to start, start with a conversation. We’d love to help you figure out where your brand story fits and how to tell it better!