Something I see a lot with small businesses – and why it matters
“Yo-yo marketing” is something I see all the time with small businesses. It’s when marketing activity ramps up when work is quiet… then quietly disappears again as soon as things pick up.
It’s understandable. When you’re busy, marketing feels less urgent. When you’re quiet, it suddenly feels essential. The trouble is, this stop-start approach often creates the very ups and downs businesses are trying to avoid.
One of the biggest issues with yo-yo marketing is inconsistency. Customers don’t usually need your product or service at the exact moment they see your marketing. What they do need is to remember you when the time is right. That only really happens when your business is visible on a regular basis.
There’s also the issue of missed opportunities. People remember what they see repeatedly. If your business disappears from view for months at a time, potential customers may simply never know you exist — or forget about you by the time they’re ready to buy.
Yo-yo marketing can also make income feel unpredictable. If enquiries only arrive in bursts, planning ahead becomes harder. Consistent marketing tends to create a steadier flow of awareness, which often leads to more reliable results over time.
Another challenge is momentum. Marketing works best when it builds gradually. Constantly stopping and restarting means you’re always rebuilding from scratch — reintroducing yourself, reminding people who you are, and warming things up again.
The businesses that tend to feel more stable aren’t necessarily the ones doing the most marketing, but the ones doing it consistently. Even small, steady activity can be more effective than occasional bursts driven by panic.
Marketing doesn’t have to be loud, constant or expensive. But it does work best when it’s treated as an ongoing part of running a business — not something that’s only switched on when things go quiet.
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