The road to small business success isn’t always a superhighway. Often, it’s a poorly maintained country road full of bumps and washouts.
While it’s important to know how to make your business successful, it’s equally crucial to know how to avoid the small business potholes that can send you into a ditch. So, as your small business makes progress towards its goals, keep an eye out for these snags.
1. Boring Content
We talk a lot about the importance of content marketing and all the ways it can benefit your small business, but stale, boring content is often worse than no content at all. You’re nothing without your customers … and if you’re not engaging, you won’t have many of them.
Don’t be afraid to change up your small business marketing methods, whether it’s posting new videos, playing off pop culture fads or outsourcing your content marketing to a cool, quirky company – like Mischa!
When you engage your readers with your fantastic content, you convert them into longtime customers.
2. Bad Behavior
You can have the best product or service on the market, but if you don’t conduct yourself correctly, you’re going to alienate the people who would otherwise be glad to help you succeed. Focus on being a good person, not just a good businessperson. This means giving back to the community, staying committed to your customers and treating everyone with respect.
On the clock or off it, you are the face of your small business, and that face should greet everyone — yes, even that person who cut in front of you at the grocery store — with a smile.
3. Social Media Snafus
For all the benefits social media has to offer small businesses, there are a hundred more ways to mess it up. From an unintentionally insensitive tweet to an all-out Facebook fail, you’ve got to stay on top of your social media game.
Keep your pages updated, interact with your fans regularly and give them incentives for following you – discounts, contests and great advice and resources are all great ways to up your social engagement and following.
4. Marketing Maladies
Marketing is a must for your small business and while there is no one right way to do it, there are plenty of wrong ones. The biggest mistake small businesses make is to stick with a plan that isn’t getting any results. If your investment isn’t helping your bottom line, you’re losing.
Take a good look at your current marketing plan. Is it making you money? Is it bringing in customer? Is it an accurate reflection of your brand? If the answer to any of these questions is “no” (or even “I’m not sure”), it’s time to change things up.
It may not always be smooth going, but if you keep your eyes on the road, you can avoid most small business potholes with no problem.