I'm intrigued, to say the least, by the current results (24th July 2010) of our poll asking small business owners about their marketing challenges.

The top answer is "Generating new enquiries" but "Lack of a marketing strategy" has no responses at all.  I'd really like to know why.

Do business owners not make a connection between having a strategy and generating new business?

Do they have a marketing strategy and thnk that that in itself is enough as far as having a marketings strategy goes and simply don't think it ought to be creating results for them?

Do they not understand what a marketing stategy is and/or can do for them? 

Do they think that a marketing strategy is something big business does and isn't relevant to smaller businesses?

Or do they think that customers should arrive through hope or wishful thinking or the power of magic spells?

Clearly I'm biased, but my view is that if you're not working on your customer base as much as you're working on the rest of your business then the likelihood is that you're challenge will be around lack of enquiries and new business.  Fix the fundamentals and get a marketing plan in place and you address the challenges that follow from that too.

I'd really like to know your views on this.  I'd like to understand more about the small business attitude towards (or against) marketing strategy. Do share...