Why is that when business owners cut costs, the first thing they get rid of is their marketing budget? Some businesses don’t even have a marketing budget. Why would you get rid of the very thing that’s going to get you new customers and grow your business? Simply put: Most business owners do not understand the importance of marketing, that is the primary reason why the marketing efforts of so many business owners are failing. Marketing is a key pillar of any business, ultimately effective marketing strategies will educate people about your product or service, they will create interest, keep your business relevant and ultimately increase your sales and revenue, but ineffective marketing will waste your time and money and eventually lead to the decline of your business. How do you avoid the latter, adopt the former and see real results in your business? By avoiding the following marketing mistakes…
No Marketing Plan
Failing to plan is planning to fail. Marketing is a strategic endeavour; you need to strategize by having a marketing plan that outlines how you will attract new customers to your business. Herein, lies the importance of Goal Setting, your marketing plan needs to have clearly defined business goals and the marketing strategies you implement need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound). Setting SMART goals means that you have targets/goals for your marketing plan and this will in-turn lead to you being able to test-and-measure your marketing efforts. Without this, you will not be able to assess the effectiveness of your marketing strategies and this could lead to you losing money in your business.
Marketing to the wrong customers
You can have the best product in the world, but if you offer your product to the wrong customer, you are simply wasting you marketing efforts. Imagine approaching a slay-queen and wanting her number but you are a Johnny Walker? Slay-Queens want men with cars but here you are trying to date one with your 2 series? Brother stay in your lane, stick to your target market and save yourself some trouble. Know who you can approach and why. Your business works the very same way, save yourself time and money and approach the right market that is in need of your product, that is willing and able to buy your product, learn to speak their language and sell like never before.
You don’t understand your brand
What is your Unique Selling Proposition? Before you begin to market your business, assess and define your USP. Why should a customer come to you and not to your competitor? If you can communicate this, you can have customers opt for you and not your competitors. Your competitive advantage is closely linked to your USP. Many business owners think that price is what sets their product apart, however, another company can open up tomorrow and sell their product for cheaper. You need to look at what your competitive advantage is beyond the price of your product or service and create for yourself a competitive advantage that will ensure that your customers see you as the superior choice above your competitors.
No Market Analysis
Market research includes one of the most important parts of any business plan: Competitor Analysis (which includes a competitor marketing analysis). If you an investor of a company you want guaranteed returns on your investment, why would you invest in something when you can invest in the competitor who will guarantee you higher returns on your investment. Competitor market analysis includes studying your competitors’ marketing strategies because as a business, you do not exist in a vacuum. You need to understand what your competitor is getting right and wrong and learn from their successes and failures. Market research includes more than competitor analysis, it includes understanding your customer lifestyle segmentation, their spending habits and more. Market analysis and research provides you with information that will help you to better understand your customer therefore allowing you to communicate your products and services to customers in a way that will yield better returns for your marketing efforts.
As business owners, you need to see a return on your investment. You cannot be investing into marketing efforts and not seeing results. When your marketing is not working, it doesn’t mean that marketing doesn’t work. It simply means that you are failing at marketing because you are doing it wrong. The marketing pitfalls detailed above can cost your business time and money. As the saying goes: when you know better, do better. You have just learnt a few of the marketing pitfalls to avoid, now you know better, its time to do better.
ActionCOACH
Thabo Pitse