Answered: Your Most Burning Small Business Marketing Questions

Patrick McFadden

I like to take some of the questions I’ve been answering from small business owners and share them here on Indispensable Marketing.
These answers are originally ran on  Quora.

No matter how many years (or days) you’ve been at this marketing game, the questions keep coming up.

In many ways, it’s a constantly shifting and evolving landscape.

In others, it’s the same as it ever was.

We’re wrapping up this last Friday of the month by taking our best shot at your best questions.

A:  The most important thing to consider when designing an appointment setting process is to make sure the prospect feels in control of the process and that you give them the opportunity to talk about what they want.

This is accomplished with one question. You must always ask the prospect,  “is there anything else you would like to discuss during our time together?”

A: My social media etiquette is to l et generosity be your guide.   It’s called the giver-taker Rule or the 95% content 5% selling Rule or the 30-to-1 Rule. What matters is the number of deposits (shares, retweets, likes, pingbacks, reblogs) versus the withdrawals (promotional messages) you make from your audience. I don’t know if the verbiage,  the percentages, or the ratio is exactly right, but what I do know is that you must remarkably make more deposits. You have to add value before you start extracting value.

A:  The best SEO tip for a start-up is to understand SEO has traditionally been about optimizing web page copy by targeting keyword phrases in certain frequencies and densities. And yet search engine research shows that almost 85% of the total factors that determine how a web page is ranked in a search engine is based on things that happen off the page itself.

Modern SEO is all about crafting content  so compelling  that other people want to promote it by linking to it or sharing it, which increases your trust and authority and helps the pages you want to rank well for certain keywords.

A:  Today all consumers are information-empowered. In fact, consumers now develop relationships with content . And to be successful with creating content that builds your business, companies need to be where their customers are and know how to engage them in a meaningful way.

Content marketing is about publishing content that focuses on the problems and desires of the prospect and customer. Healing prospects and customers true pain points with content (okay, a bit over the top, but true none the less).

A:  Of course not that would be like saying, ‘there is a one shoe fits all business.” One key to making MLMs work is to  Choose your recruits carefully – make sure they are a “fit” for direct selling. 

Don’t compound the bad reputation of MLM companies by “recruiting” anyone who breathes.  Select people carefully who really are a good fit for that business model.  You will reduce your headaches by choosing people who are outgoing, self-starters, and have a track record of success.  Yes, you will have fewer numbers in your downline – but you’re looking for quality, not quantity.  You can rocket to success by having ten winners as opposed to thirty whiners and complainers.

About the Author:   Patrick McFadden is the owner and marketing Virginia. We specialize in local professional and service based businesses such as IT consulting, construction, home services, government contracting, bookkeeping.

By Patrick McFadden March 31, 2025
1. The Challenge: VMI was like many service providers — positioning their value around what they thought clients wanted : “Office furniture installation and assembly — let us handle creating your perfect workspace.” But the actual buyers — facility managers, project managers, furniture reps — weren’t looking for “perfect workspaces.” They were trying to avoid installation nightmares . Their real priority? ✅ Great installation days. ✅ No chaos. ✅ No missed deadlines. ✅ No angry phone calls from clients. 2. The Insight: After conducting stakeholder interviews under our marketing strategy consulting engagement , the Indispensable Marketing team uncovered critical feedback: “We need installers who maintain a professional site and follow instructions.” “We lose relationships when installations go badly.” “I need quotes back quickly or I can’t sell the job.” This wasn’t just about services , it was about trust, problem-solving , and professional reliability . So we reframed their differentiators not by what they did, but how they showed up : Same-day project quotes Problem-solving on-site Update protocol with clients Professionalism guarantee Lasting Impression Insurance 3. The Shift: We shifted the positioning from vague benefits to real-world, emotional triggers : Instead of: “Let us create your perfect workspace.” Now: “Get the perfect installation day, every time.” That subtle shift aligns with who’s actually buying (and who feels the pain when things go wrong). The end-user may care about the workspace. But the buyer cares about the install . 4. The Lesson for Others: If you’re selling a service, don’t describe what you do. Describe what the client wants to avoid or achieve — and who the real buyer is. Then, systematize what you’re already doing well and give it a name. Just like our team did with: “Same Day Quotes” “Lasting Impression Insurance” “Reliable Presence Protocol” 5. The Outcome Within weeks of updating their messaging and positioning: The company reported more qualified leads asking the right questions Furniture reps began referring them because they were “easy to work with and made them look good” They were shortlisted for larger, multi-phase projects due to increased confidence in their process But most importantly, they stopped competing on price — because they weren’t selling perfect workspaces anymore. They were selling peace of mind on installation day.
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