I bought my first nice watch recently. I bought it from a small shop in my hometown. The owners are a couple that have lived there most of their lives. We talked about what I did, and I told themI was in marketing and communications. They told me a story about advertising in a weekly paper. They offered to give away a pearl necklace in a raffle to anyone who brought in the ad. “Do you know how may people came?” they asked. “Zero,” I said. They nodded.

I asked some questions, thinking that I could offer some advice on generating business and building a brand, but it became obvious as we talked that they weren’t interested in growing their business. It was the right size to keep them busy selling and repairing watches without becoming overwhelmed by the administrative side of running a business. Well then,I said, if you get enough referalls and repeat business to keep you going, then you shouldn’t worry about marketing.

Marketing isn’t for small businesses. It’s for small businesses that want to grow. If you own a small company and you’re happy with its size, then marketing isn’t a priority. If you provide quality products and services, and you’re different from the competition, people will find out about you.

But if you want to grow, if you want your revenues to go from $500,000 to $50 million, then you better start marketing and branding your company now.

Small business owners who don’t want to grow have a lot of contempt for marketing, because they see it as an expense that doesn’t deliver a return. Yet, all around us every day, big companies spend money to market themselves, to generate leads and build brand awareness. Marketing works, but it only works for companies that want to grow.

If you’re a small or medium sized business owner, you have to decide whether growth is part of your business plan (and if you don’t have a business plan, then that’s already a bad sign). If growth is a priority, then marketing isn’t an expense. It’s an investment. And if that’s you’re approach to marketing, then I want to work with you.