Here's What Beer Can Teach Us

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Good morning. Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to speak at the Wealth and Wellness conference here in Nashville. My workshop focused on how small business owners can build a profitable sales funnel.

In my latest blog post, I share 2 key takeaways all small business owners should keep in mind as they’re building there sales pipeline.

Read the full article here.

Here’s what you can expect in today’s newsletter:

• 9 tools I use daily to set my business up for success

• Why more small business owners are using AI

• Budweiser’s UninterruptedAds & what you can learn

MARKETING STRATEGY
The 9 Tools I Use Daily In My Small Business

My first entrepreneurial adventure was a crash course in learning by doing.

I started with a pre-built community, so I had a clear understanding of their needs and the services they desired. I dove headfirst, creating exactly what they requested. While I was able to see immediate growth and value, my business foundation was a biiiiit shaky.

There were no defined workflows, marketing strategies, or consistent communication channels beyond social media. It was like throwing spaghetti at a wall, hoping something stuck. Once I saw some traction, I scrambled to build a process around it.

While I do agree that validating customer needs and getting sales before investing lots of time and money into a product or service is sound advice, in my journey, I constantly felt one step behind.

So, what could have made things smoother and more efficient? Systems, tools, and well-defined processes.

Here are the 9 tools that I use daily to sustainably scale my business.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
More Small Businesses Are Using AI

GoDaddy conducted it’s 2nd annual survey of U.S. Small Business Owners and their thoughts on AI. Let’s look at some of the insights:

• 73% of small business owners surveyed use AI

• 26% of those businesses are using it for business purposes

• 68% of small business owners believe AI will allow them to compete with larger businesses

• Small business owners expect to save more than $4,000 and 300 hours of work by using AI

Wow, right? Here’s the thing. As a small business owner, you should be focusing your energy on what you do best. Utilizing AI as a content creator, administrative assistant, and/or customer service bot can help free up your time so you don’t get bogged down in the tasks that aren’t revenue-generating.

Read the full GoDaddy report here.

BIG STRATEGIES, SMALL BUSINESS
UninterruptAds by Budweiser

In this section of my newsletter, I share some of the coolest marketing tactics from larger brands and give insights into how small business owners can do something similar.

Big brands like Budweiser are always on the lookout for innovative ways to connect with their audience. Recently, the beer giant who once sponsored Jay Z’s Made in America music festival came up with a genius solution for advertising on Spotify – without interrupting the listening experience!

Budweiser's Brazil team discovered a goldmine – over 500 songs on Spotify already mentioned their brand! These songs became unofficial advertisements, generating positive brand recognition for Budweiser. But how did they leverage this go make the most impact for their brand?

Budweiser didn't just sit back and enjoy the free promotion. They took a strategic approach. By analyzing these songs and their genres, Budweiser, along with the Africa Creative Agency, programmed these songs as targeted ads. This meant that when users listened to playlists matching the genre of a song mentioning Budweiser, they'd encounter those specific songs – subtly reinforcing brand awareness.

This brilliant strategy highlights the power of authentic customer voices. People are already singing your praises (literally, in Budweiser's case!), so why not leverage that enthusiasm?

While you might not have the budget for a massive Spotify campaign, you can still harness the essence of Budweiser's strategy. Here's how:

• Gather Positive Reviews: Make collecting testimonials and positive feedback a regular practice. These are genuine endorsements from happy customers.
  

• Utilize Design Tools Like Canva: Use a free tool like Canva to create eye-catching social media graphics. Showcase your brand alongside the positive words of your best clients.
  

• Spread the Love: Share these graphics across your social media platforms, letting your audience hear why others love your business.

By amplifying the voices of your happy customers, you can create authentic and effective promotions that resonate with your audience, just like Budweiser did on Spotify. Remember, sometimes the best ads are the ones that feel natural – because they're based on genuine customer love!

Read the full article on Budweiser’s UninterruptedAd strategy here.