5 Massive Marketing Mistakes for Small Business Owners

July 5, 2011

By: Jessica Swanson (see my bio) |

More posts by Jessica Swanson | Follow me on Twitter

As Cicero once said, “We must not say every mistake is a foolish one.”

But, that’s a pretty tough pill to swallow when it comes to making mistakes with your marketing.

The fact remains that marketing missteps cost us both time and money, and as small business owners on a shoestring budget, we don’t have a lot of time or money to spare.

Consequently, here are five all-too-common marketing mistakes that, if you avoid, will help you stumble just a bit less on your road to success.

Marketing mistake #1: If I build it, they will come.

Many small business owners take the time to set up a website, Twitter account and Facebook Fanpage. Then, they sit back and wait for customers to come knocking down their door.

However, just because you’ve set-up these marketing platforms, doesn’t mean that anyone knows about you or your small business. That only happens in the field of small business dreams ; )

You need to be an active marketer for your small business.

The good news is that there are hundreds of shoestring marketing strategies to get the word out about you and your small business: tweet, blog, publish articles, speak, network, joint-venture, build an affiliate program, host a radio show, create videos or podcast – just to name a few!

Marketing mistake #2: Giving up too soon.

No matter how aggressive your marketing plan, success doesn’t happen overnight. Research suggests that in our overcrowded marketplace, prospects need to experience you and your brand up to twelve times before they even notice you.

Further that statistic with the fact that your prospects may need an additional twelve encounters with you before they’re ready to make a purchase. That’s 24 exposures – yikes!

There are dozens of marketing tools that can help you create massive exposure for your small business. And, even more ways to automate the process.

But, don’t give up on a proven strategy before it can take effect. It takes time to build awareness about your small business.

Marketing mistake #3: No target market.

If you’re among small business owners who believe that everyone will benefit from your product or service, you need to reframe your mindset. That sort of thinking will quickly undermine your marketing efforts.

Prospects want to do business with people who understand their unique set of problems, needs and concerns. And let’s face it, a sixty-five year old grandma is going to have a different set of concerns than her fifteen-year old grandson.

You must be crystal clear on exactly who it is you are marketing to so that you can consistently “speak their language.”

Marketing mistake #4: Copying your competitors.

Of course you want to keep a close eye on your competitors. And no matter how successful they appear, you’re not studying them so that you can imitate them – that’s one of the quickest ways to small business failure.

There’s little chance that your competitors are the one-and-only solution for your prospects. Instead, study their weaknesses and gaps in order to determine what problems they are not solving for your prospects.

It’s then your job to offer unique solutions that are not being addressed with your prospects.

As marketing expert Jack Trout suggests, “Differentiate or die.”

Marketing mistake #5: Poor follow-up.

Follow-up is where many small business owners fall short.

Remember, your potential clients and customers need to hear from you again and again (up to 24 times), before they feel a trusted connection with you.

Obviously, you don’t want to push your product or service down their throat in a “used-car salesperson” approach. Instead, you want your interactions to inspire, educate and eventually cause them to take action.

But, nonetheless it’s important to keep your small business name in the forefront of your prospects’ minds as much as possible.

So, do what you can to avoid making foolish marketing mistakes in your small business – it can literally cut years off those painful “growing years.”

Many thanks to Solo-E.com for this article:   http://www.solo-e.com/blog/2011/06/massive-marketing-mistakes-small.html?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SoloSecrets+6%2F22%2F11

Al Hanzal,
View more posts by Al Hanzal

Filed under: Branding,Marketing

Tags: small business, small business administration