You have nine marketing scores, a stack of recommendations, and about 20 minutes a week to spend on any of it. You cannot fix everything at once, and trying to usually means nothing gets done properly. The good news: you do not have to figure out where to start. MarketBase already tells you.
This guide shows you how to read your priorities, focus on the areas that will shift your scores fastest, and know when it is time to move on to the next thing.
In this article
- 1. Why prioritisation beats doing everything at once
- 2. How to find your biggest gap and start there
- 3. Using high-priority recommendations to guide your focus
- 4. The 80/20 rule and knowing when to move on
Why prioritisation matters
Small business owners are pulled in ten directions at once. Someone says you need more Google reviews. Someone else reckons your website is too slow. A mate mentions they are getting leads from Facebook. Before you know it, you have started five things and finished none of them.
Scattered effort is the most common reason marketing improvements stall. A plumber in Christchurch who spends 15 minutes a week on one clear priority will see better results than one who spends an hour bouncing between six different tasks. Focus beats volume every time.
Key point
You do not need a marketing plan. You need a priority. One area to focus on, one set of recommendations to work through. When that is done, move to the next.
Start with your biggest gap
Open your MarketBase dashboard and look at your scores across the nine marketing areas. One or two will stand out as noticeably lower than the rest. That is your starting point.
Your lowest score is your biggest opportunity. It is the area where even small improvements will shift your numbers the most, because you are starting from further back. A business scoring 3/10 on reviews who bumps it to 5/10 gains more ground than a business scoring 7/10 on their website who pushes to 8/10.
This is not about fixing what is "worst" for the sake of it. Low scores usually mean your competitors are ahead of you in that area. Closing those gaps has a direct impact on your market rank.
Picture this
Dave runs a panel beating shop in Hamilton. His website and Google profile are solid, but his review score is sitting at 2.8 out of 10. Most of his competitors have more reviews and respond to them. He is ranked 11th out of 14 in his market.
Instead of trying to improve everything, Dave focuses on reviews for four weeks. He asks satisfied customers for a review, responds to every one he gets, and addresses two old negative reviews he had been ignoring. His review score climbs to 5.1 and his market rank moves from 11th to 7th. One area of focus, real results.
Follow your high-priority recommendations
You do not need to decide which specific actions to take within your weakest area. MarketBase has already done that work. Your recommendations are sorted by priority, with the most impactful actions at the top.
Open your report and look at the recommendations section. The items at the top of the list are the ones that will move your score the most. Work through them in order. When you complete one, the next becomes your new top priority.
This is one of the most valuable things MarketBase does for you. Instead of guessing which of 15 possible improvements matters most, you get a clear sequence. First this, then that, then the next thing. No second-guessing required.
Tip
Do not skip ahead to "easy" items. It is tempting to knock off simpler tasks further down the list, but the high-priority recommendations are ordered that way for a reason. They address the things that make the biggest difference to your competitive position.
The 80/20 rule for marketing
You have probably heard the 80/20 principle: roughly 80% of results come from 20% of the effort. It applies to local marketing more than most people realise.
For most small businesses, a handful of key improvements drive the bulk of their competitive gains. Getting your Google Business Profile complete and accurate, building a consistent flow of reviews, and making sure your website loads properly on a phone. Those three things alone will put you ahead of half your local competitors, because most businesses have not done even that.
You do not need to be perfect across all nine areas. You need to be solid in the ones that matter most for your type of business and your local market. MarketBase shows you which those are.
A handful of key improvements drive the bulk of your competitive gains.
When to move on
There comes a point where pushing harder on one area gives you less and less return. If your review score has gone from 2.8 to 7.5 over a couple of months, the next point is going to be harder to earn and less impactful on your overall position. That is the signal to shift your focus.
Check your dashboard and look for the area that is now your weakest relative to competitors. Your priorities will naturally rotate as you improve. An area that was your biggest gap three months ago might now be one of your strengths.
MarketBase makes this easy to track. Your Progress score shows how much of the recommended work you have completed, and your scores update as improvements take effect. When progress in one area plateaus, your recommendations will shift emphasis to the next opportunity.
Your priority plan
5 minutes today
- Open your dashboard and identify your lowest scoring area
- Read through the top three recommendations in that area
30 minutes this week
- Complete your first high-priority recommendation
- Check your scores to see how competitors compare in your weakest area
- Set a reminder to tackle the next recommendation in a few days
Ongoing this month
- Work through recommendations one at a time until your weakest area is no longer your weakest
- Check your Progress score to see how far you have come
- When progress plateaus, shift focus to the next lowest-scoring area
Simple beats complicated
Marketing does not have to be overwhelming. The businesses that improve fastest are not the ones doing the most. They are the ones doing the right things in the right order. MarketBase takes the guesswork out of that equation. Your scores show you where the gaps are, your recommendations show you what to do, and your progress tracks the results.
Pick one area. Work through the priorities. Move on when it is time. That is the whole strategy, and it works.