Episode•February 9, 2023•21 min

How To Market Your Small Business Like A Pro With Tim Fitzpatrick | Ep. 202

Are you looking for marketing tips for your small business? Look no further! In this episode, Tim Fitzpatrick shares some great advice on how to market your small business like a pro. You'll learn everything from creating a marketing plan to using social media to reach your target audience. So, whether you're just starting or have been in business for a while, this episode will help. About our Guest Tim is an entrepreneur/business owner with marketing and growth expertise. He has 20+ years of entrepreneurial experience with a passion for developing and growing businesses. That passion served him well in operating and managing a wholesale distribution company he co-owned for nine years before being acquired in 2005. Since then, he’s had failures and successes. He started Rialto Marketing in 2013 and has been helping B2B professional service firms that want to accelerate revenue growth and attract more ideal clients. He believes marketing shouldn’t be difficult. But, you must remove your revenue roadblocks if you want to grow consistently and predictably. Links from the episode: https://www.rialtomarketing.com/ http://revenueroadblockscorecard.com/ http://growthmarketingplan.com/ Connect with Tim Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rialtomarketing/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/timfitzco/ Twitter - @rialtomarketing Connect with Tiffany Facebook: Money Talk With Tiff Twitter: @moneytalkwitht Instagram: @moneytalkwitht LinkedIn: Tiffany Grant This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

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Key Takeaways

1
Use the three power questions to identify ideal clients from your existing customer base
Who do you love working with?
Who are your most profitable clients?
Who do you get your best results for?
Dig into demographics and psychographics of the subgroup that checks all three boxes
2
Keep marketing messages simple, clear, and client-focused
Confused people do not buy
Focus on how you help clients survive and thrive, not on yourself
Use your ideal client's own language by interviewing them
3
Create a simple 90-day marketing plan instead of a year-long one
Six steps: target market, goal, budget/resources, current plan, 90-day focus, metrics
Start with target market and messaging if missing, then website, then what's already working
Track leads, lead sources, and client conversions
4
Funnels and tactics only work after fundamentals are in place
Without clear target market and messaging, any tactic will fail
Most marketing problems trace back to target market, messaging, or media issues
5
Friends and family are often not your target market
Ideal clients may live far away and have no personal connection to you
Go through the target market process to discover who you actually serve best

Intro

Tiffany Grant interviews marketing expert Tim Fitzpatrick about practical marketing fundamentals for small business owners who want consistent, predictable growth.
Tim Fitzpatrick is the founder of Rialto Marketing and has 20+ years of entrepreneurial experience. He helps B2B professional service firms remove revenue roadblocks and accelerate growth.

Rialto Marketing Revenue Roadblock Scorecard Growth Marketing Plan

– Identifying Your Ideal Target Market

Tim recommends starting with your existing and past customers rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. He shares the three power questions to find your ideal clients.

Who do you love working with? Who are your most profitable clients? Who do you get your best results for?
– Tim Fitzpatrick

The subgroup that checks all three boxes becomes the foundation for digging deeper into demographics and psychographics.

– Crafting Your Marketing Message

Once you know your target market, focus on messaging. Two common mistakes: making it hard to understand what you do, and focusing on yourself instead of the client.

Confused people do not buy. If people land on the top of your website and they can't understand really quickly what you do, they're moving on.
– Tim Fitzpatrick

Interview your ideal clients to get messaging in their own words. Ask about the problem they had, why they chose you, and the results they're experiencing.

– Building a 90-Day Marketing Plan

Tim advocates for a simple 90-day plan over a year-long one because businesses and markets evolve quickly. The plan has six steps on one or two pages.

Target market paragraph
Specific, measurable 90-day goal
Budget and resources (time, money, capability)
Current baseline activities
90-day priorities (start with target market/messaging, then website, then what's working)
Metrics to track (leads, lead sources, client conversions)

– Funnels and Marketing Tactics

Funnels can be effective but are often just a buzzword. Without the fundamentals of target market and messaging, any tactic will fail.

Most marketing problems come back to target market issue and a messaging issue or a media issue.
– Tim Fitzpatrick

Tiffany adds that friends and family are often not your target market, and ideal clients may live far away with no personal connection.

Resources

Topics

marketing strategytarget marketideal clientmarketing message90-day plansmall business marketinglead generationmarketing fundamentalsB2B marketing