{"id":1007,"date":"2025-03-11T15:26:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T15:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/11\/be-a-knock-out-in-small-and-local-business-marketing\/"},"modified":"2025-03-11T15:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T15:26:10","slug":"be-a-knock-out-in-small-and-local-business-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internship.infoskaters.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/11\/be-a-knock-out-in-small-and-local-business-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Be a Knock Out in Small and Local Business Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In addition to running a marketing agency with customers around the globe and <\/em>a seven-figure local business, today\u2019s master is also a kickboxing champion and MMA fighter<\/strong> \u2014 making Jennifer Waters easily the marketer I\u2019d least like to fight.<\/p>\n

Though Flo from Progressive seems like she\u2019d be a scrapper, right? It\u2019s not just me?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

But rather than spend our time arguing about which mascot would win in the octagon, today she\u2019s here to teach you how to kill it\u2026 in small and local business marketing that is.<\/strong> But don\u2019t worry; you SMB and enterprise marketers will get your kicks in, too.<\/p>\n

Meet the Master<\/h2>\n\n

\nJennifer Waters
<\/strong>Co-founder, 7 Figure Dojo; Executive sensei, Seigler\u2019s Karate Center<\/em>
\n<\/h3>\n

Claim to fame: <\/strong>Grew her small business to seven figures (Thus the name of her agency!) <\/p>\n

Fun fact: <\/strong>She\u2019s a sixth-degree Kempo karate black belt and purple belt in Tetsu Shin Ryu Jiu-Jitsu <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Lesson 1: Forget omnichannel. Think omnipresence.<\/h2>\n

\u201cTo survive as a local business, you need to think and market like a Fortune 500 company<\/strong>,\u201d Waters says.<\/p>\n

If that reflexively made your wallet pucker, you can relax. She means that you need to think bigger than just a few scattered Facebook ads.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to do what I call omnipresence marketing. Digital marketing is just one arm of it,\u201d Waters explains.<\/p>\n

So while omnichannel<\/strong> refers to coordinating your marketing across all of your digital channels, omnipresence<\/strong> means you include the real world. In fact, Waters says the foundation<\/em> of small-business marketing is live events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where you\u2019re out shakin\u2019 hands and kissin\u2019 babies,\u201d she smiles.<\/p>\n

For a karate school, this might be hosting a monthly parents\u2019 night out. For a florist, it could be weekly wine-and-design classes. (As a real-life example, the kung fu school I go to hosts a monthly classic kung fu movie night.) The exact details will differ, but the goals are the same: generating leads and building visibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be physically present in the community. We want to have internal events to bring people to us, to generate publicity. And because your name is constantly out there you become category king or category queen with your local business.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, as your digital marketing promotes these live events, your live events provide fodder for your digital marketing. And when you coordinate them both? Voil\u00e0! Omnipresence.<\/p>\n\n

Lesson 2: Relationships are everything.<\/h2>\n

Because I\u2019m a massive dork, I can\u2019t resist asking the cheese question: What do martial arts masters know that marketers need to learn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Waters\u2019 answer is anything but cheese.<\/p>\n

\u201cRelationships are everything,\u201d she says. \u201cYour relationship to the individual customer, or in this case to your martial arts student, is what is going to keep them coming back. Or feeling comfortable referring other people to you.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Every touchpoint you have with your audience \u2014 at live events, on social media, on your website, on the phone \u2014 is a chance to build that relationship.<\/p>\n

Imagine you see a great video ad, so you call up the company and\u2026 some rude jerk answers the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that marketing did nothing because the relationship wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a good time to take stock: When you reply to your emails, are you maintaining that relationship? Are you proactively reaching out to customers who talk about you on social media? When they land on your homepage, are they getting the same vibe they can expect at your live events?<\/p>\n\n

Lesson 3: Cause a pause.<\/h2>\n

For Waters, the current era of marketing is all about asking, \u201cWhat can we do to get this person to stop?<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Stop scrolling and watch your video. Stop clearing the inbox and read your newsletter. Stop walking and check out your booth at your local fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m going out in person, I\u2019m not going in plain clothes. I\u2019m going to throw on a karate gi and now I\u2019m stopping traffic<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I was advising a chef who was trying to get people to come over and taste the pastries, I\u2019d say put on a chef\u2019s outfit with the hat and everything,\u201d she gestures at an imaginary toque like Ratatouille.<\/p>\n

And the same principle applies online; you just have to figure out the digital equivalent of your gi. Waters notes that, since they\u2019re still new and novel to most folks, dropping AI-generated images into your social feed is a good way to get people to stop scrolling.<\/p>\n

The key is figuring out what makes your unique business stand out both online and off.<\/p>\n

Now, get out there and don your gi apparel.<\/p>\n

Lingering Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This Week’s Question<\/h3>\n

What’s a career you’ve always wanted to get into but never have?<\/strong>\u2014Eric Munn, Director of marketing, Chicago Transit Authority<\/p>\n

This Week’s Answer<\/h3>\n

Waters says: \u201cHonestly, I always wanted to do what I’m doing today! No other careers I would want to have!<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

And, when you cruise her resume \u2014 champion martial artist, multiple belt-holder, thriving small business owner, agency co-founder who gets to help other small businesses thrive every day \u2014 yeah, that\u2019s a fair answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next Week’s Lingering Question<\/h3>\n

Waters asks: \u201cWhat\u2019s one marketing mechanism that will generate the most revenue quickly for a startup?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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