What Is a Marketing Strategy? A Practical Guide for Small Business Owners
As a business owner, your to-do list is long and varied. When it comes to marketing, you might be putting tasks at the bottom of the list because you feel like this is a place you struggle (for whatever reason).
But I don’t think it is because you're not trying hard enough. I think it is because the information and advice you get is fragmented and no one is helping you see the whole picture as it relates to your goals and your bandwidth.
You’re told to focus on Instagram.
Or SEO.
Or email.
Or video.
Or ads.
Each tactic is presented as the answer - the one thing that will work best. And when it doesn’t work on its own, what business owners take away from the experience is that they are doing something wrong (when clearly everyone else is able to “get” it).
But what I’ve learned after 15+ years supporting small businesses is that the problem isn’t your effort, intelligence, or commitment.
The problem is that you’re getting disconnected pieces of advice without a clear way to decide what matters for your business, in this season, with your actual capacity.
Marketing isn’t failing because you missed a trick.
What you’re missing is how the pieces fit together (and which ones you can leave behind).
That’s what this post is about.
Not another checklist or platform-specific strategy that will have you starting five new projects to manage it.
Instead, let’s talk about a way to do your marketing with direction, purpose, and strategy.
Why Disconnected Marketing Advice Creates Confusion
Do you know the parable about the elephant and how a group of people perceive it in completely different ways?
Here’s the short version:
A group of blind men encounter an elephant for the first time. Each one touches a different part and confidently says what it is.
One grabs the trunk: “It’s a snake!”
Another touches the leg: “No, it’s a tree trunk.”
One presses against the side: “It’s a wall.”
Another holds the tail: “It’s a rope.”
Each person is right, but only partially. Without seeing the full picture, none of them truly understand what they’re dealing with.
Marketing works the same way.
As a small business owner, you’ve probably absorbed advice from a lot of places. Courses. Webinars. Instagram experts. YouTube videos. Specialists with very specific expertise. And while much of that advice is technically correct, it often doesn’t connect into one clear, usable plan.
Getting information and doing the best you can with what you have at the time isn’t a failure, but you do need a marketing strategy,so everything can work together.
This post will walk you through:
What a marketing strategy actually is
Why marketing often feels overwhelming (even when you’re doing “all the right things”)
And how to build a marketing strategy you can actually stick with (and without burnout)
Why Marketing Feels So Confusing (and Why It’s Not Your Fault)
If you’ve ever found yourself asking:
How do I attract more customers?
Should I focus on social media, email, SEO… or something else?
Why isn’t my marketing working when I’ve tried so many things?
How do I know what’s actually helping my business grow?
How do I keep people coming back?
You’re not behind. You’re not missing some secret trick.
You’re navigating a fragmented marketing world.
Why No Single Marketing Tactic Can Carry Your Business
Marketing advice is often delivered by specialists, and each one is focused on a single piece of the elephant.
Website designers, SEO experts, social media managers, email marketers, brand strategists, ad specialists, content strategists, PR pros, automation experts, and more - each one brings real value and deep expertise - in their specific field.
But no single tactic can carry your entire marketing strategy on its own. It would be trying to make cake with the best flour you can find - organic, free-range, ethically sourced, lovingly harvested…but no matter how good the flour is, if you don’t have other ingredients….you just have fancy flour on a shelf.
When it comes to marketing, many business owners don’t know what questions to ask - and why would they? You’re busy running your business, not becoming a marketing Swiss Army knife.
That’s why marketing often feels hard: you’re being handed random pieces without a map.
The Emotional Cost of Fragmented Marketing
There’s also a quieter side to fragmented marketing that doesn’t get talked about enough.
When you’re constantly exposed to conflicting advice, it creates a low-grade sense that you’re behind — even when your business is objectively doing fine.
You start second-guessing decisions you already made.
You feel guilty for not “keeping up.”
You assume other people have figured something out that you somehow missed.
That pressure doesn’t make you more consistent, it makes you want to freeze or start over (again and again).
And then marketing becomes something you avoid, not because you don’t care, but because you get caught up in worrying about the next best step.
What is a Marketing Strategy?
A marketing strategy is not:
A content calendar
A list of platforms
A collection of tactics
A promise of “six figures in six months”
A real marketing strategy is a big-picture framework that connects everything you do — and helps you decide what not to do.
It answers questions like:
What are my goals right now?
Who am I trying to reach?
How do people find me, trust me, and decide to work with me?
What deserves my limited time and energy this season?
Letting Go of Marketing Guilt
One of the biggest mindset shifts I see small business owners make is letting go of marketing guilt.
You’re not a “bad business owner” because you don’t love Instagram (it is my least favorite platform!)
You’re not irresponsible because your email list isn’t perfectly segmented and updated.
You’re not failing because you didn’t follow through on a strategy that never fit your life, business, or goals in the first place.
Marketing is importlant, but it isn’t a measure of your worth or work ethic.
It’s just a system, and systems can be adjusted.
Analytics (I know! So scary!) are just neutral numbers that give us information and insight. I promise you that your numbers aren’t judging you - they just give you a place to start.
What Does a Marketing Strategy Include?
Your Goals Drive the Strategy
Instead of starting with tactics (“Should I post more on Instagram?”), you start with why.
Are you trying to:
Increase bookings?
Build authority?
Launch a new offer?
Stabilize revenue?
Reduce burnout?
Your goals determine your marketing roadmap (and whether Instagram is even the right place to spend your limited time & energy).
Clear Messaging & Positioning
Before visibility comes understanding the role visibility plays in your business and what message you want to share.
What do you want to be known for?
Who are you best positioned to help?
Why should someone choose you?
Without this, marketing feels like shouting into the void (because if you’re not clear on this part, neither is the audience you’re trying to connect with).
Your Website & Content Work Together
Your website is your home base.
Your content should lead somewhere.
Design, copy, visuals, SEO, and calls-to-action should reinforce each other, not compete.
Creating an Intentional Marketing Plan
You don’t need to do everything (and you can’t).
You need to do the right things for you, consistently. Over time. Again and again.
That might mean social media. Or email. Or networking. Or SEO. Or video. Often, it’s a thoughtful combination based on your goals, audience, and bandwidth, and it can’t happen all at once. Even bigger businesses that you admire started small and tackled one or two pieces at a time.
Building a Supportive Customer Journey
We all know the phrase “Know, Like, and Trust” - it is everywhere for a reason.
Your marketing’s job is to guide someone from:
“I’ve never heard of you” to “I trust you” to “I’m ready to work with you”
That journey should be both intentional and sustainable for you to maintain over the long haul (not just short bursts).
How to Build a Marketing Strategy You Can Actually Stick With
Before you decide what to do next in your marketing, there’s one question worth asking:
What do I realistically have the capacity for right now?
Not what you wish you had energy for.
Not what someone else is doing.
Not what worked for you in a different season of life.
Just… right now.
A strategy that ignores capacity will always fall apart, no matter how smart it looks on paper.
You do not need:
A perfect plan
A year-long content calendar
To have everything figured out before you start
You need small, consistent steps that compound over time.
The best time to start was yesterday.
The next best time is today.
Why Small Steps Matter in Small Business Marketing
As a small business owner, your time and energy are limited. You’re already wearing a dozen hats, and marketing is just one of them.
Trying to do everything at once usually leads to overwhelm, stalling out, and constant second-guessing.
Small, focused actions are more sustainable and more effective.
Instead of planning three months of content and then getting frustrated because you didn’t follow it perfectly, create a simple one-month plan.
Instead of overhauling your entire website, improve one page (and make notes about what you want to work on next time)
I’d rather see you post 1x a week for three months than 5x in a one week and then disappear because you got overwhelmed or burned out on content creation.
Applying a Sustainable Marketing Strategy Across Your Business
Social Media Marketing
Batch when you have energy
Keep a running list of ideas you can come back to
Focus on consistency, not volume
Email Marketing
Keep emails simple and human
Have a plan to promote your email list
Repurpose what you’ve already written
SEO & Website Updates
Improve one page at a time (it is a never ending task, so one page at a time keeps it doable)
Add alt text to images
Track progress using Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and other tools instead of guessing
Content Creation & Strategy
Batch your content, but don’t get so caught up in finding the perfect time to make it happen that nothing actually happens.
Repurpose across platforms
Let one idea do more work for you
When More Information Isn’t the Answer
Self-education is incredibly valuable, and often necessary when you’re just starting out.
But at a certain point, the challenge isn’t learning more - you know lots of aspects of marketing, but you need to decide what matters most in your business and how to use marketing to reach your goals.
Sometimes, the most helpful thing isn’t another resource, its having someone to help you plan and implement.
It’s perspective.
A More Sustainable Way to Think About Marketing Strategy
Marketing works best when it’s connected and built around your goals, your bandwidth, and your values — not when it’s driven by pressure, comparison, or the idea that you should be doing more.
You don’t need to chase every new strategy or push yourself to the point of burnout to prove you’re serious about your business.
Start with looking at the big picture and make decisions from there. Your big picture goals act as your compass as your business evolves to keep you going in the direction you want to go.
This is the lens I bring to marketing, and it’s how I help business owners move from scattered effort to grounded momentum. If this way of thinking feels like a relief, you’re not behind or broken - you’re ready for strategy that fits the life and business you have.
Ready to get support that meets your needs? Book a discovery call to discuss
how we can create your marketing strategy together!
