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by Troy@ Dunket

Ten Marketing Moves Small Businesses Can’t Ignore

August 19, 2025
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Let’s get something straight. Playing it safe is not a marketing strategy. It is a slow death. Small businesses that cling to outdated tactics like generic flyers, boring Facebook posts, and copy-and-paste emails are digging their own graves. The marketplace has moved on. Consumers are drowning in noise, and only bold creativity cuts through.

This is not about dabbling with trendy gimmicks. It is about making the kind of moves that scare your competitors and force your audience to pay attention. If you are a small business owner, these are the ten marketing strategies you cannot afford to ignore. Dismiss them, and watch your competition eat your lunch.

Short Form Video: Blink and You Miss It

Attention spans are brutal. If you cannot grab someone in three seconds, you are irrelevant. That is why short form video is the king of modern marketing. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are not optional playgrounds. They are the main stage.

The bold brands are not posting polished commercials. They are shooting raw clips, messy behind-the-scenes moments, and unfiltered testimonials. A Winnipeg bakery’s 15-second video showing dough rising might pull more engagement than a national chain’s slick ad. The truth? Imperfection wins. The audience does not trust perfection. They trust honesty, speed, and personality.

Optimized Local Profiles: Your Digital Front Door

Most businesses obsess over their storefront but ignore the bigger problem. Customers are not walking by your store anymore. They are Googling you. If your digital profile looks neglected, you already lost.

In Canada, a .CA domain screams local credibility. In the U.S., a verified Google Business Profile is the bare minimum. Upload fresh photos, fix your hours, respond to reviews, and stop treating this as an afterthought. Local SEO is not some nerdy side project. It is survival.

User Generated Content: Let Them Do the Work

You can spend thousands on marketing campaigns, or you can let your customers do it for free. User generated content is the closest thing to marketing magic.

Set up a selfie wall in your shop. Run a contest where customers post photos using your product. Share real reviews instead of fake testimonials written by your cousin. People do not believe you. They believe people like them. And if your brand is not tapping into that trust, you are already behind.

AI Tools: Stop Pretending They Are Optional

There is a weird pride among some business owners in avoiding AI. They act like ignoring technology makes them more authentic. Reality check: it makes them broke.

AI can segment your audience, write personalized emails, run chatbots, and predict buying patterns. An Ottawa florist can schedule perfectly timed reminders for anniversaries. A gym in Chicago can automatically suggest classes to its members. This is not about replacing humans. It is about scaling human impact. Those who resist AI will not look noble. They will look extinct.

Micro Influencers: Forget the Celebrities

The days of paying a washed-up celebrity to hold your product are done. The real power lies with micro influencers. They are local, authentic, and brutally effective.

A Calgary brewery teaming up with a neighborhood food blogger will get real engagement, not hollow likes. A bookstore in Portland working with a small literary account can sell out an event faster than a national campaign. Micro influencers feel like real people, and that is exactly what customers demand.

Entertainment Content: Sell Without Selling

Nobody wants another sales pitch in their feed. They want to laugh, learn, or be inspired. If you are pushing ads disguised as posts, you are invisible.

The winners are producing entertainment driven content. Think tutorials, challenges, or playful vlogs. A Seattle boutique posting a “styling challenge” video is going to trend while the old-school shop across the street is stuck handing out coupons. The lesson is clear: if your content is not entertaining, it is not content.

Community Centric Marketing: Show Up or Shut Up

Small businesses love to talk about how “community focused” they are. But most of the time, it is empty talk. Consumers are not buying the words. They are looking at actions.

Sponsor the local charity run. Host a workshop. Partner with a nonprofit. An Edmonton bookstore hosting live readings is doing more for its reputation than a corporate giant spending millions on generic ads. When you show up for your community, your community shows up for you.

Multi Platform Engagement: No Excuses

Your customer’s journey is chaos. They scroll Instagram, search Google, visit your site, and maybe walk into your store. If your brand cannot meet them seamlessly across those touchpoints, you lose.

An Edmonton craft shop can livestream in-store events while running matching promotions online. A U.S. retailer can link email campaigns to social posts and website updates. Excuses like “we don’t have time” are dead. If you are not present across platforms, you are handing business to someone who is.

Subscription Models: Predictable Beats Sporadic

Too many small businesses live on unpredictable sales. Subscriptions fix that. They deliver recurring revenue and turn customers into long term members of your tribe.

A coffee shop in Calgary can send beans to subscribers every month. A landscaping company in Vancouver can sell seasonal care packages. A wellness brand in Chicago can build exclusive memberships. Predictability is power. Subscriptions transform shaky income into a stable foundation.

Personalized Communication: Robots With a Human Voice

Mass emails are spam. Personalized communication is currency. The future belongs to businesses that use AI tools to make every interaction feel human.

Chatbots can answer instantly without sounding robotic. Post purchase recommendations can make customers feel seen. Welcome emails can be as warm as a handshake. A Toronto gift shop’s chatbot that helps people choose the perfect present is doing more for loyalty than 20 generic newsletters combined.

The Bottom Line: Bold or Forgotten

Let’s not sugarcoat this. Small businesses that cling to safe, outdated strategies will fade into irrelevance. The ones that thrive are the ones that take risks, embrace bold creativity, and experiment with tools that bigger companies are too slow to adopt.

Short form videos, AI personalization, micro influencers, and subscription models are not gimmicks. They are weapons. They are how small businesses punch above their weight and win in markets stacked against them.

The future will not reward cautious players. It will reward the bold. If you are serious about growth, stop waiting for permission. Make these moves now, or watch your competition leave you behind.

Related Posts
India’s e-commerce surge

Ignore India’s e-commerce surge and you will miss the next trillion

July 2, 2025
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Let’s cut the fluff. While you’re refreshing your click-through stats and blowing money on ad campaigns that barely convert, India is building a digital empire. And they’re not waiting for your brand to show up.

India’s e-commerce and digital economy are exploding. We’re not talking about projections ten years down the line. We’re talking now. This economy is racing toward a $1 trillion milestone by 2028, and most North American brands are either asleep at the wheel or stuck thinking India is still “emerging.” Newsflash: it has already arrived.

If you are not updating your playbook for global digital buyers, especially those in India, you’re not just missing an opportunity. You’re choosing to lose.

What’s happening in India?

India is adding digital consumers faster than any other country on Earth. Over 900 million people will be online by 2030. They’re mobile-savvy, fluent in digital payments, and hungry for quality international brands. And they’re not just window shopping.

Indians are buying. From electronics to beauty to niche health products, they’re skipping borders and hitting “Add to Cart” on international sites, especially ones that understand their needs. If your website, checkout, and delivery strategy are not speaking their language, literally and functionally, you’re invisible.

This is not your dad’s global expansion strategy

Let’s break it down. You don’t need a 50-person team in Mumbai. What you need is:

  • A mobile-first site that loads fast and doesn’t crash.
  • Localized payment options like UPI or Paytm.
  • A solid shipping plan that actually reaches people in smaller cities, not just metro hubs.
  • Customer service that doesn’t ghost people after a sale.

India’s consumers are digitally educated and globally aware. They know when you’re faking localization. They also know when a brand respects them enough to get it right.

Why you should care urgently

1. Massive buyer base
 This isn’t some vague demographic promise. These are real people already buying from international sellers. The rising middle class in India is growing its spending power daily. You are one UX improvement away from cracking open a million-dollar pipeline.

2. Low-cost, high-impact marketing
 You think ad costs are bad in North America? In India, the ROI on community-first marketing, influencer campaigns, and organic SEO is still massive. You can build brand loyalty for a fraction of what it costs at home.

3. Tech plus talent equals scale
 Looking to outsource or grow your digital backbone? India’s tech ecosystem is one of the best on the planet. From app development to customer support to creative production, you’re looking at a talent pool that’s smarter, cheaper, and more agile than anything you’re paying for now.

Still not convinced? Good. Stay behind.

Look, not every brand deserves to go global. If you’re too scared to invest in a new market or too lazy to rethink how you sell, India is not for you. The ones who will win are the ones willing to:

  • Get uncomfortable.
  • Move faster than their competition.
  • Actually listen to what customers in other countries want.

Because here’s the uncomfortable truth. This is the biggest commercial shift in a decade. Bigger than TikTok. Bigger than Shopify. This is an entire nation’s consumer base pivoting hard into the digital economy, and they’re doing it with speed, smarts, and a mobile phone in hand.

How to stop being irrelevant

Let’s get tactical. If you are a North American business and want in, start here:

1. Optimize your digital storefront
 If your site doesn’t load properly on a mid-range Android phone in a rural town, fix it. Now. Mobile UX is not optional.

2. Accept how people pay
 You want to get paid, right? Then accept the payment methods Indian customers use every day. UPI, Paytm, Razorpay. Integrate them.

3. Build trust fast
 International buyers need to know you’re real. Show return policies. Display reviews. Respond to customer queries like you actually care.

4. Start selling before your competitors do
 Niche products, branded supplements, learning tools, digital subscriptions, whatever your product is, there’s a market for it in India. But that window of advantage is closing fast.

5. Partner smart
 Work with Indian fulfillment partners. Use platforms like Amazon India or Flipkart to test the waters. Partner with a digital agency that understands Indian social media. Skip the ones that only sell you generic PPC campaigns.

Final word: Be bold or be forgotten

India’s e-commerce future is not a prediction. It’s a live feed, and it’s growing every day. While you’re stuck refreshing your U.S. sales numbers, smart competitors are going global, adapting fast, and banking hard.

So what are you going to do?

Sit this one out and let your competitors take the win? Or finally start acting like your business belongs in the future?

Your call. But don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Written by Troy McMillan for Dunket. Because being safe is for people who don’t mind being ignored.

Big Banks Just Validated Blockchain

Big Banks Just Validated Blockchain. Are You Still Ignoring It?

July 7, 2025
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Let’s skip the pleasantries and get right to the point. JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in America, just made a monumental move. They started moving actual U.S. dollars on the blockchain using something they call JPMD deposit tokens. While they are racing ahead, most small businesses are still wrestling with outdated payment systems, waiting days for transfers to clear, and paying fees to middlemen for… what exactly? A dose of nostalgia?

If you are still not paying attention to this shift, you are falling behind. Because while you are bogged down in paperwork and slow wire transfers, the future of money is making its presence undeniably felt.

Here is What JPMorgan Just Did

JPMorgan launched a blockchain powered product that converts U.S. dollar deposits into digital tokens. These tokens can move in real time, 24/7. To be clear, these are not volatile cryptocurrencies floating in an unregulated digital wild west. These tokens are fully backed, completely regulated, and directly tied to real money held within a JPMorgan account.

To put it simply: the biggest, most traditionally conservative name in finance just declared to the world that blockchain technology is not only legitimate, but increasingly necessary for modern financial operations.

These deposit tokens are not a fleeting gimmick. They are inherently faster than your current wire transfers, more secure than your manually managed spreadsheets, and undeniably smarter than your outdated payment system. They settle instantly, meticulously track every transaction with bulletproof transparency, and can even be programmed to execute rules based payments without requiring any manual effort from your team.

Let’s be blunt. If your business is still operating like it is 2015, JPMorgan just decisively moved beyond you.

So, What Exactly Are These Deposit Tokens?

Each deposit token is essentially a digital version of a dollar sitting inside JPMorgan. When a company needs to send money, they use these tokens instead of relying on slow, old school wire transfers or ACH payments. The fundamental difference? It is faster. It is smarter. It is always on. And every transaction is trackable with crystal clear digital receipts.

Here is what these innovative tokens offer:

  • Instant transfers that work whether it is Sunday at 3 a.m. or a Tuesday afternoon.
  • Smart contract automation for setting up rules based, self executing payments.
  • Immutable audit trails for every single penny, providing perfect records.
  • No middlemen. No unnecessary layers. Just direct, efficient results.

This is not a fantasy scenario; it is fully functional and already deployed for institutional clients. The real question is not if this technology will trickle down to small and mid sized businesses, but when. And when it does, you absolutely do not want to be the last one clutching your physical chequebook.

Why Small Businesses Should Feel a Little Urgency

The uncomfortable truth is that SMBs are often the last to embrace new technologies. We understand the reasons: budgets are tight, and new tech can feel intimidating. However, while you might be hesitating, your competitors are already upgrading. The smart ones are getting ready to gain a dominant position.

Let’s look at the hard facts:

Cash flow is oxygen. Traditional transfers often take days. Think about that: days. That is valuable time you could be using to restock inventory, pay your team promptly, or invest in opportunities for growth. Blockchain based payments, by contrast, settle in mere seconds.

Fees are a death by a thousand paper cuts. Banks and traditional payment processors constantly eat into your profit margins. With automated blockchain tools, you can eliminate these unnecessary layers and keep more of the money you earn.

Human error is frankly, embarrassing. How many times have you accidentally entered a wrong account number or spent hours chasing a failed payment? Blockchain systems do not guess; they confirm details meticulously before any funds move, drastically reducing errors.

Compliance is a nightmare no one enjoys. The audit trail created on a blockchain is instant, permanent, and transparent. It is like having a perfect, unalterable record of every financial movement, without the stacks of binders and administrative headaches.

Still Think This Is Just Hype?

Let’s dismantle this misconception right now. These deposit tokens are not Bitcoin. They are not operated by questionable offshore exchanges. They are issued by a highly regulated, federally backed financial institution. They strictly follow all the rules. They are fully auditable. And critically, they are directly connected to the same U.S. dollars sitting in the same bank accounts you already use.

So, if you have been justifying your inaction by claiming “crypto is too risky,” it is time to find a new excuse. Because this is the moment where you either adapt and evolve, or you risk being outplayed by those who do.

The financial tools are rapidly changing. The biggest players in finance are now deeply involved. And the businesses that truly understand the difference between market volatility and transactional velocity are about to gain a significant competitive advantage.

The Unspoken Truth No One Wants to Admit

JPMorgan is, in essence, doing what many governments have yet to fully accomplish. They are actively building the future of finance without waiting for a national central bank digital currency (CBDC). This means the private sector has effectively leapfrogged the public sector in this crucial area.

This development serves as a powerful wake up call, not just for small business owners, but for every Chief Financial Officer (CFO), controller, and operations lead who has been dismissing blockchain as a passing fad. It is not a trend; it is a fundamental, structural upgrade to our financial systems.

And here is the most powerful part: this isn’t just about faster money movement. It is about programmable money. You can build specific rules and conditions directly into your payments. Imagine automatically issuing refunds when certain conditions are met. Picture holding vendor payments until a delivery is fully confirmed. Envision instantly paying gig workers the moment a task is completed. The system handles it all, requiring minimal staff involvement.

That is not just cool; that is a truly powerful advantage for your business.

What Should You Actually Do About It?

If you are waiting for someone to give you permission to explore these powerful new tools, you simply will not get it. JPMorgan did not ask for permission. They built. They launched. And now they are running circles around traditional, legacy financial systems.

You, on the other hand, can take proactive steps:

  • Start asking your bank what their strategic roadmap is for implementing deposit token infrastructure and similar digital finance solutions.
  • Evaluate your current accounting or ERP systems to determine if they can easily integrate with APIs designed for digital, blockchain based payments.
  • Stop dismissing blockchain simply because it feels unfamiliar or complex. Take the time to understand its practical applications for your business.
  • Analyze your current payment stack to identify areas where you are losing valuable time and unnecessary money. These are prime candidates for digital transformation.
  • Pay close attention to innovative fintech disruptors that are actively building tokenized financial tools specifically for small and medium sized businesses.

The honest truth? This is just the beginning of a massive shift. Major global players like Citibank, HSBC, and others are actively preparing to roll out their own blockchain based platforms. You have a clear choice: you can either position your company to lead your industry into this new era, or you risk becoming another cautionary tale of “too little, too late.”

Wrapping It Up

Big banks are not known for being early adopters. They are certainly not impulsive. When institutions like JPMorgan make moves of this magnitude, it is because the perceived risk has been thoroughly analyzed and mitigated, and the potential reward is overwhelmingly clear.

JPMorgan’s decision to put real U.S. dollars on a blockchain is not an isolated experiment. It is a bold declaration of intent.

And if you are still choosing to ignore blockchain at this stage, you are not being cautious. You are being careless.

Because the true risk today is not in exploring something new and potentially transformative. The real risk lies in clinging to outdated methods and systems that are rapidly being replaced by more efficient, transparent, and intelligent alternatives.

The smart money just made a decisive move. Now, it is your turn.