21 Top Marketing Mistakes Small Business Owners Make | Bids By Pros 5
CC: Image source is from sportscene.tv
Marketing is a pillar of every business and is the only foundation to go further, faster. Imagine a boat with no engine crossing the Atlantic from North America to Europe. The marketing to a business resembles the engine to a boat. The planning and strategy of the marketing to the business is the safety gear of the boat that keeps it balance not to tip over.
Lets Continue with our 21 top mistakes small business owners make:
17-Wrong niche marketing:
By know by reading the top mistakes, we understood the basis of niche marketing and the importance of it. As a business owner recognizing a correct niche target is necessary for further marketing planning and budget assignment.
To explain this better lets picture a ladies shoe store that carries high-end fashion shoes. The first thing that comes into the mind, high-end fashion and its look are for younger niche and teenagers. A good business owner will explore the possibilities to analyze further more into the data from business plan to understand the local community needs.
If selling high-end then its higher quality and is higher prices. A teenager on a student living budget cannot be a direct and only target since this niche spends on lower prices on student budget. So the correct niche is a professional and higher income spender who is interested in quality without considering the price tag.
This example clears how a business owner distinguishes the certain target audience by analyzing the local market data from business plan. With enough knowledge in market research, the business owner avoids wasting the marketing budget on a wrong niche.
18-Not participating in community:
CC:Image source is from plazilla.com
“Every big things has small beginning”.
Regardless of the geographical target of any business, whether global or corner store in a small village, it all begins with local community. Who are the first people you would share news with in your everyday life? Family and friends are the strongest link to marketing and spreading the word. It starts from friends and family and spreads to their friends and family and before you know it, is a snowball effect and word is out.
I have come cross with many small business owners who are running their business without involving the community and complain about their monthly financial hardship. It is the same with other businesses that spend a chunk of their budget on global marketing without even involving the community the started the idea in the beginning.
The local community is the test run before spending a time and money on a dead-end marketing plan. Many businesses fail to realize this fact and yet avoid participating in their local community.
19- Do not own an informative and representative website:
Internet plays a great deal of connection in people’s life everyday. Many customers use the Internet to search and review their local businesses and base their decision on Internet credibility. No matter what business category, it requires an informative and user friendly website. A good business website is a gateway that welcomes customers to enter and experience the business offering.
Many small business owners making mistake and assume their line of business does not require a website. With daily development of technology, people get more connected via Internet and do their shopping online. Search engines get stronger everyday by developing codes and programs to bring up the exact and precise inquiry. Read “10 Essential Features of Every Business Website” to fully indulge the concept.
20- Do not appreciate the value of Internet marketing:
With a vastly growing competition on the Internet and the increase in demand for business development, simply having a website that offer information is not enough. Popular search engines such as Google.com and Bing.com are only producing websites in their search result, which have better ranking. To understand the ranking please refer here.
Many small business owners simply making a big mistake by avoiding the presence on the Internet and ignore the growing highway to success. Every business must have an informative website and optimizes the presence of the business on search engines, social media and popular relevant forums. This subject of Internet marketing and its highly effective marketing plans is a wide range of subject to cover in this article.
21- Expecting too much in short time:
The biggest mistake of most of business owners is to expect too much in a short time. There is always cause and effect but it requires proper time period to produce best effect. A seed needs time to open the surface and grow to a strong tree. But it requires water and good fertilization. Marketing is the water and fertilization to the business. It takes time for a good marketing plan to spread the roots and make a strong holding ground.
“Rome was not build in a day”
Even the greatest city of all time, the mighty Rome in Roman time was not built over time. It took generations and much hard work of skilled engineers, planning and proper budgeting to become the mega city of the time.
Can you hold a roof without building the pillars and the walls? Marketing is the pillar of the business. Without marketing and planning the strategies, business lacks a foundation.
Many business owners place the marketing and development in their last page when the business opens its door to the public. Marketing starts when the business idea takes shape. It begins before the business is even called a business. Avoid making marketing mistake and start your marketing with knowledge and strategy.
Don Z
www.bidsbypros.com
