Common Small Business Marketing Mistakes

Three Common Mistakes

Being a small business owner means that each marketing activity you pay for takes on greater significance, since you don't have a big budget. You can't really afford for any one marketing activity to be a total flop because it will torpedo your budget for other things that you need to do.

Here are three common mistakes that small business owners make when marketing their small business:

Spreading your investment too thin:

Having a tiny ad once in a while in the local paper isn't going to help you make a dent in the market. Niche down until you find an advertising medium that's targeted to the market you are trying to reach, then invest in advertising that's effective in reaching that audience on a regular basis.

The glossy brochure:

I couldn't resist - every time I get a glossy brochure in the mail from a real estate agent, I think about the money they've just wasted. It happens in all industries - a business owner decides to get some sales activity going by printing up some generic, nice looking/sounding brochures and sending them out. It rarely works. If the best idea you can come up with is "let's send out some brochures because it's been slow lately", you need some more ideas. (like run a contest, call a reporter, do some high profile charity work - anything but the brochure)

The "coupon with no value":

You've all seen this one - a coupon lands in your Inbox or mailbox but the discount is so pathetic you wonder why they sent it in the first place. Like the free home value appraisal coupon that local real estate agents send out (I'm not picking on them...). Or the coupon for a free roof inspection (gee, I wonder if they'll find a leak?) Or an offer to buy way more than you need of something to get a modest discount.

My couponing advice - don't run coupons very often, and when you do, make them great offers that people will flock to you for. That's the point, isn't it? Build traffic with a strong short offer, then try to convert the traffic to buying at full price.

Coupons with no real value don't accomplish either. - Will Dylan

And speaking of "free" advertising.....

Free Ideas for Generating Small Business Publicity

So you want to generate some publicity for your small business but you are absolutely stumped as to what to talk about. Sometimes sitting by yourself staring at a blank screen just isn't going to drive a good idea out of your head. So when you are stumped, try thinking about the two groups of people you encounter every day.

Customers - this should be your number one source of ideas, because ultimately a good media story is going to be aimed at either current or potential customers.

Ask yourself what problem your product or service solves for your customers - then ask if that problem has changed in any way. If so you may be able to position yourself as an expert on the change and talk to some local reporters about a story on that topic.

For example, a local exterminator who deals with commercial and residential properties solves a pest problem for their clients. But what's changing about that problem? Well for one, many jurisdictions are increasingly regulating the types of chemicals that can be used to fight pests, leaving homeowners and business owners looking for new solutions that you could bring to light in a media story. And the types of pests are changing - who hasn't heard about bed bugs in the media lately? Again, there's an opportunity to jump onto a trend and showcase your solutions.

Competitors - when a competitor does something - whether it's changing their product lineup or their advertising or their hours, you should be asking yourself "why did they do that?"

A good rule of thumb in business is to assume your competitors are as smart as you are, so watch their moves carefully. If they add a new line of products, think about the driving force behind that decision and ask yourself what element of that story you could use to approach a reporter.

Carrying on the above example, if a competitor in the pest business came out with a line of organic pest control products, ask yourself what drove them to that decision. Then look at how you could position yourself as an expert.

Alternatively, you could take an opposing view and highlight that while organic products are a great idea, they aren't as effective - citing examples of clients who have come to your company after trying and failing with the new organic line of products.

There's an old saying "Heat sells better than light" - meaning opposing views make for a better story than one that's just plain insightful.

Marketing Basics for the Small Business

Laura Lake, a Small Business Marketing and Social Media Consultant from Kansas City sums this up with her article:

The essence of marketing is to understand your customers' needs and develop a plan that surrounds those needs. Let's face it, anyone who has a business has a desire to grow their business. The most effective way to grow and expand your business is by focusing on organic growth.

You can increase organic growth in your business in four different ways. They include:

• Acquiring more customers
• Persuading each customer to buy more products
• Persuading each customer to buy more expensive products or up selling each customer
• Persuading each customer to buy more profitable products

All four of these increase your revenue and profit. Let me encourage you to focus on the first which is to acquire more customers. Why? Because by acquiring more customers you increase your customer base and your revenues then come from a larger base.

How can you use marketing to acquire more customers?

• Spend time researching and create a strategic marketing plan.
• Guide your product development to reach out to customers you aren't currently attracting.
• Price your products and services competitively.
• Develop your message and materials based on solution marketing.

The Importance of a Target Market in Small Business

When it comes to your customers keep in mind the importance of target marketing. The reason this is important is that only a portion of the population is likely to purchase any products or service. By taking time [to] pitch your sales and marketing efforts to the correct niche market you will be more productive and not waste your efforts or time.

It's important to consider your virtual segmentation by selecting particular verticals to present your offerings to. Those verticals will have the particular likelihood of purchasing your products and services. Again, this saves you from wasting valuable time and money.

Small Business Marketing and Large Business Marketing are Different

If you are like the majority of small business owners your marketing budget is limited. The most effective way to market a small business is to create a well rounded program that combines sales activities with your marketing tactics. Your sales activities will not only decrease your out-of -pocket marketing expense but it also adds the value of interacting with your prospective customers and clients. This interaction will provide you with research that is priceless.

Small businesses typically have a limited marketing budget if any at all. Does that mean you can't run with the big dogs? Absolutely not. It just means you have to think a little more creatively. How about launching your marketing campaign by doing one of the following:

• Call your vendors or associates and ask them to participate in co-op advertising.
• Take some time to send your existing customers' referrals and buying incentives
• Have you thought about introducing yourself to the media? Free publicity has the potential to boost your business. By doing this you position yourself as an expert in your field.
• Invite people to your place of business by piggybacking onto an event. Is there a concert coming to town, are you willing to sell those tickets? It could mean free radio publicity. If that is not your cup of tea, how about a walkathon that is taking place in your area, why not be a public outreach and distribute their material?

When you do spend money on marketing, do not forget to create a way to track those marketing efforts. You can do this by coding your ads, using multiple toll-free telephone numbers, and asking prospects where they heard about you. This enables you to notice when a marketing tactic stops working. You can then quickly replace it with a better choice or method.

Getting Started with Small Business Marketing

By being diligent in your marketing and creating an easy strategy such as holding yourself accountable to contact ten customers or potential customers daily five days a week you will see your business grow at an exceptional rate. The great thing is it will not take a large marketing budget to make it happen.