Little things can have a big impact, especially in marketing. Let me give you three examples.

Scenario 1: You walk into a restaurant and are seated. Your server comes up to you and hands you a menu and explains the specials of the day, describing each meal, how it is cooked, and what your side options are. Then the server asks if you have any questions before you place your order.

Scenario 2: You are driving down the street when you notice that a local soccer club is having a car wash in a parking lot. A couple of very cute elementary-aged children are waving to you and pointing to their hand-drawn sign. You smile, wave back and turn into the lot to get your car washed.

Scenario 3: You notice that your neighbor has a new lawn mower. You think you need a new lawn mower as well. You have never seen a mower quite like this one. You take a picture of the neighbor’s mower, do a search on your phone for the same model and order it.

Question 1: What do these three things have in common?

They are all marketing to you in a way that leads you toward a decision to spend money... and you are unaware that marketing is happening. Many times when we think of marketing, we think of big advertising campaigns – like Super Bowl ads, flashy websites, corporate sponsorships, blogs, social media posts, etc. Most of these big marketing items are designed to make you aware of a brand. For instance, if I see a car commercial during a football game, the advertiser is not expecting me to stop what I am doing and run to the local dealership to buy the advertised vehicle. They are actually wanting me to remember the brand so when I’m not watching TV, but am in the market for a new car, I recall their product. However, there is much more to marketing than big awareness campaigns. There are tiny marketing steps that lead customers to a sale. We often don’t think of them as marketing, but they are as important – or maybe more important – than big, flashy awareness campaigns. Tiny marketing kind of sneaks up on you. We don’t notice the little things that make people decide to buy one item over another, make them spend money when they weren’t expecting to, and seek out a brand that they had never heard of before.

Question 2: What is different about these three scenarios?

They describe three different situations where the customer decides to make a purchase, but for contrary reasons.

• The first scenario describes a situation where you are expecting to make a purchase. You are going to buy something to eat at the restaurant. The server is using marketing to guide the purchase to higher profits (smart restauranteurs put their highest profit items in the daily specials.) Engagement with the customer when they are ready to make a purchase is essential for this tiny step in marketing to work.
• The second is different from the first scenario because you weren’t planning on making a purchase. But when you saw those cute little kids waving to you, something started tugging on your heart and, on impulse, you drove into the parking lot and paid for a car wash. Attracting the attention of the consumer at the right time is key here, but it is more than just placing a product in the aisle of the checkout line. The appeal of an impulse buy has to connect with emotions. The "feel good” nature of this kind of marketing makes your product or service something that cannot be resisted. If you can connect on an emotional level, you will secure the sale even if the consumer wasn’t planning on making a purchase.
• The third scenario has to do with calling attention to the uniqueness of a product or service. A lawnmower should be a functional tool. As long as it is cutting the grass, who cares how it looks? However, we really do care how we look to those around us. Peer pressure sells. If my neighbor has a unique looking mower, I am attracted to the brand. What should we learn here? Branding matters. It helps you stand out from your competition. The power of prestige sells and that happens when marketing draws attention to the distinctiveness of the brand. But there are a couple of other tiny, but powerful, marketing tools at work here. When you searched for your neighbor’s mower, it had to be quickly found on your phone. Searchable photos of your products, logo, and other branded images have to be available online. And when you found the item you were looking for, you had to have a clear call to action to be able to purchase it. These are essential to marketing in today’s economy.

Little things in marketing have a big impact. So how is your tiny marketing working for you? Make these small steps a part of your marketing plan. They are essential to your success.