Three elements every marketing approach needs
Most people think of marketing as advertising, social media, or the visual look of a brand. Those things matter, but they sit on the surface. Underneath them are the foundations that shape how your business shows up and how people understand what you do.
If you're a small business owner who's ever felt unsure about what to say, where to focus, or why certain efforts aren’t leading to more sales, there’s usually a foundational piece underneath that needs attention.
Marketing is part of how your business runs. It connects to what you offer, why it matters, and the experience you want people to have. When you treat it as part of the engine rather than an afterthought, it becomes much easier to make decisions and stay consistent.
These foundations aren’t something you define once and never revisit. As your business evolves, you learn more about your customers, your offer shifts, and the market changes. It’s normal to adjust your marketing as you go.
Marketing supports your business goals
Before you think about channels or tactics, it helps to understand the role marketing plays. It isn’t about posting for the sake of posting. It isn’t about chasing algorithms or copying what everyone else is doing. Marketing is there to help your business move in the direction you want it to go.
Your goal right now might be to increase sales of a particular product or service, get more repeat customers, become known for something specific, attract enquiries that are a better fit, or increase the average value of each sale.
Whatever your goal is, your marketing should support it. When you make decisions from this place, it becomes easier to choose what’s worth your time and what can wait.
With that in mind, here are the three elements that sit under every effective marketing approach.
Messaging
When your message is unclear, it looks like:
People not quite understanding what you offer
Long explanations that still leave people unsure
Feeling like you need to justify your prices
Inconsistent content because you're not sure what to say
Your message is the foundation of your marketing. It’s what helps people quickly understand what you offer, who it’s for, and why it matters. When your message is unclear, marketing usually feels harder than it needs to. You might find yourself repeating the same phrases without feeling confident in them, worrying that people don’t quite understand what you do, or feeling unsure about what to say next.
Practical steps
Write down how you currently explain what you do, then read it as if you’re a customer.
Ask a friend or customer to describe what you do in their own words.
Test different ways of explaining your offer and see which version people respond to.
Lead with the result, not the process.
How to improve your message
You can build a clearer message by answering three simple questions.
What is the thing you’re offering? State this in plain language, without getting lost in process or features.
Who is it for? Think about a specific type of person in a specific situation rather than trying to appeal to everyone.
Why does it help? What becomes easier, better, or less stressful once someone works with you.
Your answers don’t need to be perfect to be useful. A clear working draft is enough, and you can refine it over time.
When your message is clear, it becomes easier to write your website copy, create content, and talk about what you do in a way that feels confident and consistent.
Positioning
When positioning needs attention, it looks like:
Attracting customers who aren't a good fit
Uncertainty about pricing
Needing to customise everything
Feeling like you have to compete on speed or cost
Practical steps
If you have competitors, look at how they talk about their work. What feels similar to yours and what feels different?
Write down three things that make your business genuinely different (not better).
Describe your ideal customer’s situation and frustrations.
Look at your last five customers. Were they ideal? If not, why?
Review your pricing. Does it match how you want to be perceived?
Positioning is simply how your business sits in the mind of your customer. It helps them understand whether you’re the right choice for them, and it influences things like your pricing, the enquiries you receive, and who you naturally attract.
Many small business owners haven’t been taught this, but it shapes almost everything about how people see your business.
Positioning influences things like:
Your pricing
The format of your services or products
The way customers talk about your business
The experience someone has before and after buying
Who your offer naturally attracts
Good positioning doesn’t mean trying to appeal to everyone. It’s about being clear on what you want to be known for and who you serve best.
Your story plays into this as well. People respond to the reasons you started, how you think about your craft, and the experience you want to create. Those small details help them see what makes your approach different, even if your offer looks similar on the surface.
How to build stronger positioning
You can strengthen your positioning by getting specific about who you serve best and focusing on their real situation and values. Show what sets your work apart, whether that’s your experience, your process, your priorities, or the way you support your customers. The most effective way to express this is through real examples. Instead of saying you’re experienced or that you care about quality, show it through customer stories, the decisions you make, and the details you pay attention to.
Findability
Findability is about making it easy for the people who need your help to come across your business.
When awareness is low, it looks like:
Feeling invisible
Relying on occasional bursts of activity
Worrying that you need to post constantly
Enquiries that are inconsistent or a poor fit
That can happen through many channels, including social media, referrals, Google search, markets or events, partnerships, and community groups. And you have more influence over whether people find you than you might realise.
The goal isn’t to be everywhere. What matters most is knowing where your customers go when they need help, and focusing your energy there.
Practical steps
Review your reach and visibility over the past month
List three places your ideal customers spend time. Are you visible in at least one of them?
Choose one visibility action to commit to for the next 30 days
How to improve findability
Improving your findability starts with understanding your customers’ habits. Where do they spend time, and where do they naturally go when they need information or reassurance? Choose one or two of those places first and show up there consistently, even if it’s in small ways.
Keep your Google Business Profile accurate, use keywords people genuinely search for, and make sure your website clearly explains what you do. It also helps to keep your contact details current across every platform and to engage with your local or online community.
Conversations, replies, and small moments of connection build trust and increase visibility. And if you have happy customers, encourage them to share their experience. A genuine recommendation goes further than any ad.
Bringing it all together
These elements work together.
Your message helps people understand what you do. Your positioning helps them see whether you're the right fit. And none of that is even possible if they can’t find you!
When any of these areas need attention, marketing can feel harder than it should. When all three are steady, your marketing feels clearer and more connected to your goals.
As you work on these areas, remember that people respond to the story behind your business just as much as the details of what you offer. People want to buy from people they like, and the way you describe your work, the value you bring, and the experience you create all form part of how they get to know you. When your awareness, message, and positioning line up, your story becomes easier for people to understand and remember.
You don't need to fix everything at once. Many small business owners see progress by choosing one area to focus on and giving it some attention over a few weeks.
If you'd like help reviewing these foundations or refining your message, this is something I support clients with through my Marketing Roadmap.
Ready to take action?
Complete the free Marketing Foundations Worksheet. It’s a simple online tool to assess your current awareness, message, and positioning, identify your biggest gap, and create a focused action plan for the next 30 days.