Marketing Is Everyone"s Job: The Real Reason Your Business Isn't Growing

We break down why marketing is the oxygen of a business and how to build a system that compounds over time. We share strategy-first steps, content pillars, and the habits that keep momentum steady without burning out your team or budget.

• marketing as connection before conversion
• founder as chief storyteller and culture setter
• employees and customers as brand amplifiers
• strategy before socials and audience clarity
• content pillars for consistency and trust
• measuring performance and doubling down
• systems, batching, automation, and monthly themes
• community-led stories and testimonials
• quarterly reviews and iterative pivots
• vision-led marketing that sells belonging

Do me a favor and share it with someone who needs to hear it, and tag us at not just candle talk
Don't forget to grab your free marketing mastery blueprint checklist on our link tree

Chapters

• 0:42 Marketing As Business Oxygen
• 2:31 Connection Before Conversion
• 3:07 Who Owns The Story
• 4:43 Start With Strategy, Not Socials
• 5:38 Know Your Audience Deeply
• 6:18 Build Content Pillars
• 6:50 Measure What Matters
• 7:19 Consistency And Compound Growth
• 8:06 Systems, Themes, And Community
• 10:14 Marketing As Shared Responsibility
• 11:35 Invitations, Resources, And Next Steps

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:21

You can have the best product in the world. But if no one knows it exists, it doesn't even matter. Marketing isn't just an Instagram post, a few hashtags, or even a flyer. It's the heartbeat of your business. So today we're going deep. Who owns marketing in your business? Where do you even start when you're not a marketing expert? And most importantly, how do you maintain it consistently without losing your mind or your budget? So let's start with some truths. Marketing isn't optional, it's oxygen, it's how your business breathes, how your customers find you, and how your story spreads. But too many entrepreneurs treat marketing like an afterthought. Something you do after you build the product, after you open the store, or after you launch the website. But the problem with that, you end up shooting into the void. Marketing creates connection before conversion, it builds trust before the sale. And here's the secret: it's not about shouting louder, it's about being heard by the right people. Marketing is what keeps your brand alive when your product isn't in front of them. Think of brands like Apple or Nike. Their marketing isn't just selling you a product, it's selling you a belief, an identity, a lifestyle. And that's why people line up for something they already have. It's not logic, it's connection. And what is that? That's marketing. So whose job is marketing really? The short answer is everyone's. Whether you are a solo entrepreneur, a small business owner, or you're running a growing team, marketing isn't a department, it's a mindset. If you're the founder, you are the chief storyteller. You define the message. Your employees, they're your brand ambassadors. Every customer's interaction, every email, every post they share adds to your brand's reputation. Even your customers, they're your marketers too. Their testimonials, reviews, and reposts have more influence than any ad you'll ever pay for. If everyone isn't speaking the same brand language, your marketing will always sound off key. Marketing is a key, a team sport. Sorry. It's not about who runs the ads, it's about who protects the story. If you're sitting there thinking, okay, I get it, but where do I start? Okay, so let's break it down. Step one, start with strategic, not socials. Too many entrepreneurs jump straight to Instagram without a message. Before you post, ask, what problem am I solving? Who is this for? Why did why should they trust me? That clarity becomes your marketing foundation. Step two, know your audience intimately. Who are they? What keeps them up at night? What do they secretly want that your product or service provides? The deeper you understand your audience, the easier marketing becomes. Because it's not guessing, it's speaking their language. Step three: create consistent content pillars. Pick three to five core themes that represent your brand. For example, education, storytelling, transformation, and results. So I'm going to quickly just uh put not just candle talk podcast in the brand. Um what we do is we we try to educate um out of the three to three to five pillars, education and motivation, and sometimes storytelling is by far what defines what not just candle uh talk podcast represents. So every piece of content should fit into one of those buckets. Okay, that's how your brand uh becomes familiar and it becomes uh a breeded trust. Step four, measure, don't just post. Marketing isn't about doing more, it's about doing what works. Look at your data, what's performing, what's not, and double down on what drives engagement and conversion. That's how you grow sustainably. Let's talk about consistency, the hardest part of marketing, okay? Because marketing only works when you do it long enough to see results. I'll repeat that. Marketing only works when you do it long enough to see results. Most businesses quit after 30 days because they don't see instant results. But the truth, marketing is like compound interest. The longer you invest, the more powerful it becomes. So here's some tips to maintain your marketing momentum. Okay, number one, create systems, not stress. Batch your content, automate your emails, use tools that make consistent consistency possible, not exhausting. I've talked about this uh before in other episodes, uh, about using automation um to do a lot of your work for you. Step two, plan month themes, monthly themes. Sorry about that. Each month should focus on one key message or an offer. That way, your audience doesn't get confused and your content stays aligned. Number three, involve your team or your community. Let your employees or your followers share stories, testimonials, or behind the scenes moments. That's free marketing that feels real. Number four, revisit and refresh. Every quarter, review what's working and pivot. Marketing is not a one-time plan, it's an evolving conversation. Um again, I've I've touched on this uh in in past episodes. Um it's all full circle. It really is. Um most of the most of the episodes that I've done in the last, I say the last month or so, um, is it it all points to this. We had to we had to get to the to this point eventually, and here we are. So if you take nothing else from today's episode, take this. Marketing is not a department, it's your story in motion, it's the voice, the feeling, and the reason someone chooses you over someone else. And the moment you treat it as an ongoing shared responsibility, your brand will never be forgotten. Start small and stay consistent, and remember, the best marketing doesn't sell a product, it sells a vision people uh want to be a part of, right? Um and that's so true. Um so again, uh if you if you if this episode resonates with you, um, and if you are up for discussion or have any um commentary on marketing, um I am open for guests to come on and um share their stories on how they market their products, okay? Or how they uh pivoted from uh marketing in a different way than they had before when they started. As always, thanks for tuning in to not just candle talk, where we bring raw truths and real strategies for entrepreneurs, creators, and hustlers. If today's episode hit home, okay, uh do me a favor and share it with someone who needs to hear it, okay? And tag us at not just candle talk. And don't forget to grab your free marketing mastery blueprint checklist, and that's gonna be uploaded on our link tree. It's a your it's a step-by-step guide to building a brand. People remember. So until next time, keep building, keep burning, and keep your story alive. And stay tuned for the next episode. Um, we're gonna do um another deep dive of marketing to bring in uh the new year 2026. So stay tuned. Thank you. Talk to you later.