Marketing is one of the most important parts of running a business. Most of the small businesses that fail, do so because of either a lack of marketing, or bad marketing. You need to get the word out about your business, and you can do so most effectively by avoiding the following five mistakes.
Mistake #5. Focusing on Marketing Rather Than Relationship Building.
Marketing should be about creating a relationship with your customers. You probably know a lot about your customers, so put this knowledge to work! Compare it to dating: you don’t simply hand a lady a list of reasons to choose you; it takes a little more finesse than that! You need to build a relationship over time. If you have any experience with dating, you know that different women have different preferences; some want flowers and dinner at expensive restaurants, while others would rather spend an afternoon at the park. Customers are the same. That is why traditionally selling has been compared to seducing. Because you know your customers pretty well, you should be able to figure out what will really wow them and how to best deliver it.
Mistake #4. Fading Out of the Limelight.
I have seen this so many times that it is beginning to feel like one of those depressing, predictable Greek tragedies. A small business owner will run a brilliant marketing campaign, which begins to gather momentum, and then the campaign ends and the owner simply stops. This is a mistake because you will never build momentum this way. Running a small business means that your marketing wheels must always be turning. Once you have your customers’ attention, don’t let it go! Do not give up the limelight, not even for a day.
Mistake #3. Marketing to Everyone.
Some of the most popular marketing techniques are also the most expensive and least effective. Why do people use them? Because they fail to see the obvious. Whether you are running a small town business or an online empire, only a handful of the people who encounter your business are going to be potential customers. Marketing to everyone is expensive, and is a waste of time. Instead of doing this, put a little thought into where your customer is likely to visit and what types of nontraditional marketing will appeal to them. Focus on your primary target market first!
Mistake #2. Not Getting Help When Necessary.
Most small business owners somehow believe that outsourcing marketing will be too expensive.. The surprising face is, marketing and branding consultants are not that expensive; in fact, when you consider what your own time is worth and take into account that it will take you at least twice as long to perform the same tasks, I bet you are probably going to save money by outsourcing a lot of your marketing.
Top Mistake #1. Doing Nothing.
This is probably the most common mistake. You spend so much time planning, preparing and researching that you rarely get a marketing campaign off the ground. Remember what I said earlier about momentum: you need to be marketing constantly. Constantly. It is better to try something new and fail than to sit around second-guessing yourself. The only way to be a success is to take action: track results, learn from your mistakes and always look for new ideas to market your business.
