At Digital Butter, small is not trivial. We know that small can be mighty. Other agencies are focused on snapping up the biggest clients or getting the ‘big names’ into their portfolios. But we’re here for the small guys – the small businesses that don’t get the attention they deserve.
We believe that small businesses can do big things. That’s why we’ve spent six years becoming experts at growing small businesses. Because small businesses are unique and they deserve a unique approach.
“A Small Business Is Not a Little Big Business”
This is one of our guiding quotes from the Harvard Business Review. Small businesses come with a completely different set of problems and require a completely different set of solutions than what one might suggest for a big business.
Leaning In Instead of Copying
When you see the work and success of bigger brands, it’s tempting to copy what they’re doing in the hopes of achieving the same success. But just because they’re bigger, doesn’t mean what they’re doing is better. They’re in a completely different phase of business to you.
Thales Teixeira, also from the Harvard Business Review says, “If you’re trying to learn how to walk and you look at Usain Bolt, the fastest man on the planet and try to observe how he’s running and say, “I’m going to do the same thing.” It’s not going to work. Why? Because you’re at a completely different phase in your life.”
Instead of copying big businesses, we guide our small business clients to lean into the fact that they’re small businesses. With time, we’ve learnt that being small can be a superpower. But that’s not the only thing we’ve learnt.
Becoming Experts at Growing Small Businesses
With all of the marketing advice online being centred around big businesses and all of our clients needing guidance for their small businesses, we decided that we had to become the experts.
We don’t work with small businesses because we think they’re cute. We work with small businesses because we’re obsessed with their DNA: their patterns, the mechanisms that make them tick, and the strategies that help them grow.
This expertise is rooted in identifying growth patterns across six years of small business clients. Here’s what we know:
- You’ve got fewer resources
- You’re wearing all.the.hats.
- There is too much advice on the internet and it’s overwhelming you
- You know there are lots of ways you can grow but you don’t know where to start
- You’ve got less room for error
- Your business is your livelihood
- Every small business is different
Conclusion
Armed with this knowledge, we approach every project on a case-by-case basis. We spend time getting to know your business so we can recognise and filter through the strategies we’ve proven work best for small businesses.
