Small business owners are some of the most resilient people in the country. They manage daily operations, hire staff, handle finances, and serve customers, often all within the same hour. Yet when it comes to marketing, many default to quick efforts that are easy to execute but rarely effective. A single boosted post or one email blast becomes the entire strategy, and when it does not produce results, the assumption is that marketing simply does not work.
Marketing does work. What does not work is treating it as an occasional task instead of an ongoing system.
Eric Goodstadt
CEO, UpSwell Marketing
Eric Goodstadt, CEO of UpSwell Marketing, has seen this pattern repeatedly across the thousands of local businesses his team supports. “The biggest challenge for small businesses is the misperception that marketing is a silver bullet or something you can do occasionally. It only works when it is consistent, measured, and optimized,” he said.
UpSwell is a full-service direct mail and digital marketing agency that helps small and medium-sized businesses attract more customers through targeted, hyper-local campaigns. The company uses a multi-channel approach informed by more than a decade of experience supporting service-based industries across the country. Rather than relying on one-time promotions, UpSwell builds measurable, data-driven campaigns that help local businesses grow steadily month after month.
Small businesses operate with an urgency that larger companies do not. Even when they are doing well, many live day-to-day, with revenue and customer flow shifting constantly. Goodstadt believes effective marketing must support that reality. “Our job is to make sure that every day their business is a little stronger than the day before,” he explained. “When we do that, we protect their dreams and everything they risked bringing them to life.”
Putting data to work
One of the clearest gaps he sees is how small businesses use data. Many assume marketing results cannot be measured, but Goodstadt says the issue is not the marketing itself — it is the lack of information being collected. Without data, every decision becomes guesswork. With data, every dollar has purpose.
He cites an old saying that often frustrates business owners: “I know half of my advertising works. I just do not know which half.” UpSwell’s custom analytics platform was built to solve exactly that problem. By connecting directly with a business’s point of sale system, the platform matches marketing campaigns to real customer transactions. This gives business owners clarity about which channels perform, what customers respond to, and how to adjust their strategy based on the behavior of their specific community.
Local nuance also matters. Goodstadt notes that no two locations, even within the same brand, behave the same way. A business in Plano, Texas, serves a different audience than one in Westfield, N.J., Chicago, or Billings, Mont. Marketing only works when it reflects the behavior, values, and expectations of the business’s target audience.
Consistency is another critical piece. One marketing effort is not enough. “We live in a multi-channel world,” Goodstadt said. “Your marketing needs to be multi-channel as well.” That may include digital ads, direct mail, targeted email outreach, and repeat communication that keeps customers connected throughout the year. Direct mail remains surprisingly effective, with younger generations reporting strong satisfaction with mailed promotions and offers.
His final piece of advice to small business owners is straightforward: “Own your craft. Do it better than anyone else. And understand your customers so you can communicate in a way that resonates with what they value.”
To learn more, visit upswellmarketing.com
