The 3 Biggest Marketing Mistakes You’re Probably Making
“Don’t follow the herd. The view is always terrible.” Unknown
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your marketing, you’re not alone. And it’s not surprising. Not only has marketing got so much more complex with the explosion of digital marketing, but reaching your ideal buyer is something that takes real strategy - unless you want to blow through your marketing budget.
One of the questions I get asked often is what are the three top things you suggest I do to grow my business? I’m going to flip that question and talk about the three biggest mistakes I see most entrepreneurs make with their marketing. Tackle these three - and you’ll be in excellent company.
Big Mistake 1 - Copying Your Competitors’ Marketing
Same kind of logo, same kind of website, same kind of color palette, same kind of services etc etc. Same. Same. Same. Don’t fall into the hole of copying your competitors thinking they must know what they’re doing. Chances are better than excellent that they do not and are also just throwing mud at a wall hoping something sticks. The second reason you won’t want to copy them is that it makes your business sound lame and unoriginal. And the third reason (if you needed a third reason) is that it confuses the heck out of your prospective buyers - how are they meant to make an informed decision if you sound just the same as everyone else?
Big Mistake 2 - Your Marketing Message (Step 2 of the Client Stampede Formula), is not strong enough
Have you clearly been able to articulate what makes your business better and different? In my experience most business owners know in their hearts why they’re the best, but their marketing does a poor job of communicating this. Your value proposition needs to communicate in as few words as possible, why a prospective buyer should choose you. Avoid empty sounding phrases like “we make you feel like family” or “providing excellent service since 1979.” Pinpoint exactly what your differences are and word them in such a way that your target buyer will say “a-ha - that’s exactly what I’m looking for.”
Big Mistake 3 - Wasting Your Marketing Budget by Advertising in Places That Your Ideal Buyers Do Not Hang Out In
Remember, just because you know other businesses are running ads in TikTok and it’s currently the “it” social media platform does’t mean it makes any sense for you to be investing in it. Too many businesses just burn through their marketing budget because they advertise on the platforms they think they should be advertising on - instead of the ones that actually make sense for their target market. Don’t just blindly advertise and hope for the best. Do your homework. Dig into the metrics of the platforms you advertise on and see if they match with your target market. Look for special niche advertising platforms that your target market frequent. It’s ok if they’re some obscure trade journal no one has heard of. You have to fish where the fish are!
Start your marketing tune-up by addressing these three areas and you’ll be making great progress!
