When it comes to creating a marketing plan and strategizing for your small business, efficiency is key. Although trial and error is often a great way to hone in on ways for success, small business marketing mistakes can also cost you critical time and resources. With so many different types of marketing avenues and directions to go in, it can be difficult to create a marketing plan for your small business that is both successful and cost-effective.
Save yourself from wasted time, money, and resources by avoiding these most commonly seen small business marketing mistakes.
Lack of Competitor Awareness
Many small business owners and marketing teams get so fixated on their plans that they forget to pay attention to their competitors. Paying attention to what types of marketing your competitors are doing and how they’re implementing it can help guide your marketing efforts. Keeping tabs on what tactics they use repeatedly can give you some clues to successful marketing strategies for your industry. Even better, you can learn from their mistakes without the exhausted time and resources from your business.
Targeting the Wrong Audience
Narrowing down a target audience should be done at the very early stages of marketing planning. To effectively design a plan to market, you must base your efforts solely on the specific audience or group you are trying to reach. A mismatch between your marketing strategies and the correct target audience will lead to an ineffective campaign. Spend time honing on the specific consumer your brand or product is targeted for.
Not using Analytics
Using marketing analytics software and data can help you determine what is working and what is not when it comes to your marketing campaigns. Though collecting this data is helpful, it is only helpful if you analyze it and adapt accordingly. Many small businesses make the mistake of collecting important data then failing to analyze it. To avoid this common mistake, develop some key performance indicators before starting a marketing campaign. Then, set aside time on your calendar to periodically review and track the results of these key performance indicators. By analyzing the data you collect, you can quickly fix mistakes and be on the road to more successful marketing campaigns.
Not only do analytics help you adapt your campaign to see more success, you can also save yourself wasted money. Money and resources are often tight for new or small businesses. Wasting money on marketing efforts that are simply not producing the desired return on investment is something every small business owner wants to avoid.
Customer Retention
Another commonly seen small business marketing mistake is failing to focus on customer satisfaction and retention. An existing customer should be a top priority, as you want them to become a repeat customer. Happy customers, who have been satisfied via exceptional customer service, become repeat customers. Repeat customers are a great way to get free marketing through word-of-mouth referrals. Many small businesses get quite fixated on turning new prospects into customers, that they fail to address the needs of their current customer base. To avoid this commonly seen small business mistake, focus on customer satisfaction through several avenues, such as social media posting, newsletters, loyalty programs, and personalized communications.
No Real Plan to Start
This common small business mistake is so simple to avoid! Before starting on any marketing, your small business must put a real written plan into action. It can be easy to gloss over this important step; since the ideas might be in your head. Creating a marketing plan helps eliminate other commonly seen marketing mistakes, such as failing to target the correct audience. Your marketing plan should be realistic, simple, and repeatable. The plan is a place to start, though it is continually adapted as your small business changes and grows. Taking the necessary time to put a written plan into place will ensure success in all of your marketing efforts.
Another important component of planning is to set a budget. By setting a budget, you can help eliminate overspending and other catastrophic budget fiascos. Set a realistic budget for marketing campaigns to get started. You can always adapt as your business grows!
Looking for professional assistance to help avoid common small business marketing mistakes? Contact us today at Cobblestone Marketing. Our process includes essential planning before creating and executing a marketing campaign. We bring businesses and customers together through information.