Breaking news: No small business is perfect. Despite your best attempts, you are going to make some mistakes, miss some marks and (probably) bash your head against the wall a time or two out of sheer frustration.
While it’s true that we all make mistakes, it’s equally true that identifying common blunders in advance makes them easier to avoid. Stay away from these small business marketing mishaps!
Social Awkwardness
If social media was a party, what sort of guest would your small business be? If your answers range from “the quiet one in the corner trying to blend in with the wallpaper” to “uh…what party?”, then you have a big problem.
It’s not enough just to slap a website link and a few pictures on your social media pages. You have to consistently engage, inform, and yes, even entertain your audience on a regular basis, lest you be forgotten — or worse, unfollowed! When you put (and keep!) yourself out there, you stay in the front of your would-be customer’s minds.
Sticking With the Status Quo
So, things are going well, are they? Business is steady, the bills are getting paid and you’re beginning to think there’s nothing to this whole small business owner thing. Time to sit back and enjoy the ride, right?
Wrong! Sticking with the status quo only means that you’ll be left behind when the bar is raised — and the bar will be raised before you know it. Growing complacent, especially where your marketing is concerned, is a recipe for disaster.
Stay on top of the industry blogs. Keep a close eye on what your competitors are doing. Always strive to do better tomorrow than you did today.
Aiming at the Wrong Target
Imagine you own a hot tub repair service. In your area, only 35% of households own hot tubs — so why waste money reaching out to the people who don’t own the one product you service?
Who buys your stuff? Who do you market to? Ideally, the answer to those two questions would be the same, but unfortunately, many small businesses waste good marketing money chasing after customers who couldn’t care less about their products and services. Narrowing your focus ensures that you hit the target you’re aiming for without paying for the superfluous arrows that go astray.
Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket
It’s fine to focus on marketing initiatives that work and ditch the ones that don’t. If your website sales are through the roof but your direct mail campaign is a bust, it makes sense to nix the direct mail.
The problem comes when you go all-in on one tactic. Just because it’s working now doesn’t mean it will continue to work in the future, or that something else wouldn’t work as well or even better. The secret to marketing is to cross the channels and find a combination of things that work in tandem to get you the biggest return on your investment!
Refusing to Wave the White Flag
No one likes to surrender, but sometimes the best thing you can do for your business is to find a competent marketing agency and ask for help. Whether you just need advice or want to hand the whole campaign over to someone with experience in the field, there is no shame in waving the white flag!
Do you need some help cleaning up after a mistake, or some more pointers on how to avoid small business marketing blunders altogether? Mischa Communications is here! Give us a call or send us an email and we’ll get you back on the right track.