Marketing Strategies

I recently taught a marketing session at a SCORE event that drew a wide range of entrepreneurs: aspiring hair salon owners, bakery founders, and B2B companies selling cleaning supplies.

In other words, their marketing needs were all over the map. Some businesses were best suited to traditional, campaign-based tactics, while others would benefit more from relationship marketing. In a few cases, a blended approach made the most sense.

Here’s a quick recap. Traditional marketing is largely “one-and-done.” You create a message, push it through channels like print, radio, direct mail, or paid digital ads, and aim for an immediate purchase. It’s transactional by design: attract attention, convert, and move on.

Relationship marketing, by contrast, focuses on building ongoing loyalty and repeat business. It turns first-time buyers into returning customers by creating consistent value and connection, through email nurture, loyalty programs, helpful content, responsive service, and genuine community engagement.

While relationship marketing has existed as long as people have sold goods, it came into sharper focus with the rise of the internet, when companies began systematically connecting with customers beyond the initial sale.

In my presentation, I introduced both approaches and emphasized that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. The right mix depends on your target customer, budget, sales cycle, and capacity to follow through.

I encouraged attendees to work with their SCORE mentors to tailor a plan aligned with the specific clients they want to reach. During the Q&A, one of the most common questions was, “Which social media platform should I use?”

The answer: use the platforms your customers actually use. If your audience is local families, your choices differ from those targeting facility managers at industrial sites.

This is where a solid SWOT analysis becomes essential.

Assess your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to guide channel selection, messaging, and resource allocation. Then revisit your SWOT regularly. Assumptions age quickly in marketing; what worked six months ago may underperform today.

The good news is that modern tools make it easy to pivot. You’re not locked into large print runs or long lead times. You can test, measure, refine, and even design or print new materials yourself with minimal friction.

If you need help clarifying your audience, choosing the right mix of traditional and relationship tactics, or building a practical testing plan, give me a call. I can help you prioritize, experiment intelligently, and stay on the path that leads to sustainable growth.

If you need business advise or would like to have talk to your company, group or club you can reach me at BobchuckPatterson@yahoo.com

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