Marketing is often one of the biggest challenges for small businesses. It takes time and resources that could easily be spent elsewhere. But effective marketing plays a key role in keeping a company growing and thriving. To ensure you’re making the most of your marketing efforts avoid these common marketing mistakes.
Doing no marketing: When business is good, it’s easy to forget about marketing. Why worry about getting more business when you already have plenty? Because marketing is something you do for the future, not just the present. Even when you have plenty of business, maintain your marketing efforts to keep a steady stream of new and returning customers.
Having no idea what you’re doing: Many small businesses don’t have the budget to hire a professional marketing team. Instead, you give it your best shot – in between all of your other responsibilities – and get lackluster results. Fortunately, educating yourself in the basics is easy. There are many low cost or free options available online, such as blog posts, websites and webinars. The websites of the U.S. Small Business Administration (https://www.sba.gov/) and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (https://www.nfib.com/) both have whole sections on marketing. Other great options include books, workshops from your local chamber of commerce or industry associations or hiring a consultant.
Having no plan or strategy: Marketing is not an area where you should just “wing it.” Your marketing efforts most likely include multiple elements – website, email and social media channels – and it’s easy to get overwhelmed and forget what it is you’re trying to accomplish. Build a strategic marketing plan to keep your efforts focused and cohesive and help you strategically map out the steps needed to reach your goals. The plan should include clear and specific goals and a schedule that is planned around key dates and how all marketing channels work together.
Using too many channels: If you have a page on every social media site available, you are probably wasting a lot of time on sites that aren’t drawing in your target audience. Instead, choose no more than three sites that you know your customers or potential customers use and focus on delivering high quality content on a regular basis through these platforms.
Not measuring results: Ineffective marketing is a waste of time and money. The only way to make sure you’re not pouring marketing dollars down the drain is to track your results. And with technology today, there’s no excuse not to. Analytics are built into all the major social media platforms and other free programs, such as Google Analytics, make it easy to track the responses to each online marketing effort.
Not systematically pursuing leads: Finding people who are interested in your products and services is one of the most expensive parts of doing business. So every failure to follow up on a lead costs you money. Develop a simple system for following up with anyone who has expressed interest in your company. Prioritize pursuing existing leads over finding new ones as someone who has already shown interest in your products and services is more likely to buy from you than someone who has not.
Seeing marketing as an expense, not an investment: Many small business owners see marketing as an optional expense that is always the first to be cut when money gets tight. But marketing should be an ongoing process that is invested in regularly for the future of your company. It helps increase the visibility of your company, demonstrates your expertise and ultimately is what brings in the new customers.
