"I hate marketing."
If you just nodded your head, you're in good company. Research shows that 73% of small businesses lack confidence in their marketing strategies, and marketing has become the most frustrating business function for operators. More frustrating than taxes. More frustrating than hiring.
And honestly? You have every right to hate it.
Marketing has become a circus of contradictory advice, expensive tools, and self-proclaimed gurus who've never actually run a business telling you how to run yours. Meanwhile, you're trying to actually deliver value to customers, manage your team, and keep the lights on.
Here's what nobody tells you: marketing doesn't have to be this hard. You don't need to become a marketing expert. You don't need to master the platforms or pretend to care about engagement rates.
What you need is a way to clearly communicate the value you already create, to the people who already need it, in language they already use. Everything else is just expensive noise.
This guide strips away the BS and focuses on what actually works for real businesses run by real people who have real work to do. You'll understand why marketing feels impossible, which frameworks actually matter, and how to make decisions without second-guessing yourself.
Most importantly, you'll see that the things that make you "bad at marketing" – your focus on substance over style, your discomfort with self-promotion – aren't weaknesses. They're strengths to leverage.
The time and monetary investment required for "proper" marketing is huge. Studies show that only 18% of small businesses feel "very confident" in their marketing, and it's no wonder why. When you're running a business, dealing with customers, managing operations, and putting out fires, developing comprehensive strategies and tracking engagement metrics feels impossible.
I struggle just to get business owners to talk about their business. They're that overwhelmed. And when we finally connect, they're skeptical about paying consultants hundreds per hour when they could hire someone part-time. I get it – there's so much bad advice out there.
The worst marketing advice? "Just post more on social media." As if your problem is you're not interrupting people's lives frequently enough. 41% of small businesses say getting people to open or click is their biggest challenge. Before you know it, you're a full-time content creator who happens to run a business on the side.
Marketing has become more complex than rocket science. One expert says email is dead; another swears by lengthy sequences. 60% of small businesses say finding new customers is their top marketing challenge. By the time you figure out one platform, it's changed or "dead" according to the latest influencer.
Here's what kills me: operators actually know the important stuff. They know their customer's real problems – not demographic data, but actual keep-them-up-at-night problems. Yet marketers come in with their "tell your story" advice.
Real marketers know to talk about the customer's story. Operators understand this intuitively – customers care about their own problems getting solved, not your company story. They don't need to become marketers; they need marketing that works the way they think.
I have a saying: "The tool cannot rule." It's my mantra after watching businesses get seduced by the latest marketing tool, only to wonder why their generic content isn't moving the needle.
Most businesses jump to tactics because strategy feels hard. It's more exciting to play with that new AI tool than to figure out where you actually are and where you want to go. But without foundation, you're just making expensive noise.
Those AI content tools everyone's raving about? Amazing – truly. But without strategy, they generate generic content full of jargon that sounds good but isn't effective. The tool doesn't know your customers' emotional triggers or philosophical objections.
Before touching any tool, answer this: What specific transformation does your customer desperately want?
Not what service you provide. What transformation. Nobody wakes up wanting your product. They wake up wanting their problem solved. This means doing the foundational work – looking at your best customers to find patterns, understanding pain points on three levels: external (the obvious problem), internal (how it makes them feel), and philosophical (why it's wrong they have this problem).
Strategy is just answering three questions:
Once you have these answers, tactics become obvious. The tool cannot rule. Strategy does.
When I started in public relations, it was my job to make clients the hero. When I pivoted to marketing, I used the same approach. I was committing marketing's deadly sin until I discovered StoryBrand – I was supposed to be talking about the customer, not myself.
Your customer is Luke Skywalker. You're Yoda. Get this wrong, nothing else matters.
Research shows that storytelling can result in a 30% increase in conversion rates. The framework is simple: Your customer (hero) has a problem. They meet you (guide) who gives them a plan and calls them to action. They either succeed or fail.
Most people actually hate tooting their own horn. They're relieved when I tell them to stop talking about themselves. The magic happens when you position your offer as the key to transformation every hero needs.
Nobody marries on the first date. The value ladder meets people where they are. Start with something free that solves a small problem. Build trust. Then offer the next step.
In my business: free blog post → Strategic Discovery Workbook → Discovery Session ($500) → full Rainmaker System. Each step proves value before asking for more commitment.
If your customer says "getting more leads" and you say "optimizing conversion funnel," you've lost. Listen to how customers describe problems. Use their exact words.
The 80/20 truth: Most of your marketing is waste. What works? Clear website messaging. Simple next steps. Consistent follow-up. Amazing results that generate referrals. Not sexy, but effective.
Great marketing doesn't sound like marketing. Just like great salespeople don't sound like salespeople. They sound like someone who actually cares about your problem.
Before approving any marketing, ask: would I actually respond to this? Not "does this look professional?" but would YOU, as a busy person with real problems, actually stop and pay attention?
Run from anyone who:
Want to know something that will make marketing gurus cry? You can literally run your entire funnel with Google. Docs for landing pages, Forms for leads, Sheets for CRM, Gmail for communication. Total cost? Zero dollars.
Funnels aren't magic. They're just a path from "I don't know you" to "I trust you enough to buy." You need clarity, not 47 steps with upsells and downsells.
"Scaling" is guru-speak for "I'll teach you what I've never done." Most businesses don't have a scaling problem. They have a clarity problem. Fix that first.
Essential:
Nice-to-have: Everything else. 82% of small businesses believe multiple marketing channels lead to better results, but only after you nail the essentials.
StoryBrand only works if you know what your customer wants and why they can't get it alone. The only way to know? Actually talk to them. If you truly care, you'll ask the real questions. People can tell when you just want the sale versus when you genuinely want to solve their problem.
Every customer has three levels of problems:
Companies using StoryBrand report significant improvements in customer engagement and revenue. When you solve all three levels, you become invaluable.
Your customer is Frodo; you're Gandalf. The guide position sounds like: "We understand how frustrating [problem] is. We've helped dozens of businesses like yours. Here's how we can help."
Confused customers don't buy. Your plan should be 3-4 steps max: 1) Schedule consultation, 2) We create your strategy, 3) We implement together, 4) You see results. Simple. Believable.
The decision depends on your business stage, but one thing never changes: strategy stays with you. As a leader, you need to be intimately involved in establishing the vision. No one else can do that.
Early stage? DIY most things to learn what works. Growth stage? If you're spending 20 hours weekly on social media instead of closing deals, that's expensive DIY. 56% of small businesses have only an hour or less daily for marketing.
Good marketing help amplifies your voice, not replaces it.
You don't need to become a marketer to do effective marketing. You just need clarity about the value you create and systematic communication.
Remember:
Your next step: Have five conversations with your best customers. Don't sell. Ask about challenges, what they've tried, what success looks like. Listen to their language.
Then download the Strategic Discovery Workbook (free) to turn those conversations into clear messaging. Consider a Discovery Session to apply these frameworks to your specific business.
Marketing doesn't have to be your nemesis. Keep it simple. Keep it real. Keep it focused on transformation, not tactics.
Stop reading about marketing and go talk to a customer. That's where real marketing begins.
About the Author: Adrian runs Rainmaker Media Group, a business consulting practice that teaches strategic messaging to established organizations using StoryBrand frameworks combined with AI-powered facilitation.
