The 7 BIG Mistakes in Busines

Most of these tactics only require more time and effort and perhaps a little extra money but more on that later.

The 7 BIG Mistakes

Here are the introductory steps to consider if you want to make your marketing efforts more successful. This might seem self-evident, but only 51 percent of small business owners said they created a marketing plan for their companies, according to a Wellness Index from Manta. As the old saying goes, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

Not developing a marketing plan ahead of your actual marketing efforts leaves you without a clearly defined set of goals, strategies, and performance indicators that can help you track your success. Start with small goals and modest targets.

The 7 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Small Business Owners Make | The Time Tracking Blog

Determine where you want to focus your efforts, what you want to accomplish, and how you intend to reach your goals. You can always revise and adapt your strategy as you go along, but starting with a comprehensive plan is essential. There is an abundance of small business marketing advice out there.

Digital marketing evolves so quickly that most marketing professionals are learning on the job. The principles and practices they learned in college or in an MBA program become outmoded quickly. Throwing money at advertising campaigns can be intimidating. But with enough marketing prowess, you can make informed decisions about where and how to allocate your budget. Experimentation can be your best asset when it comes to digital marketing. Think of these tests as mini focus groups, without the stale coffee and cookie platters, of course.

By thinking like a scientist, you can gain customer insights that will lead to better advertising down the line. Best of all, the more successful your ads are, the less they usually cost per impression. Working with marketing consultants can give your efforts a head start while freeing up your time to focus on the other components of your business.

You need to find individuals or agencies that fit your personality, understand your business, and genuinely care about the end result. There are hundreds of self-proclaimed marketing gurus out there who may not deliver on what they promise or worse yet, flat-out lie about what they can accomplish. But the right consultants will work with you, your budget, and your goals. Taking on the challenges of small business marketing can feel intimidating for even the most seasoned entrepreneurs.

All you need to do is keep an open mind, invest time and funding, and be open to new ideas. Her advice consistently appears on such sites as Yahoo! Her passion for the written word manifested itself during her time at Boise State University, where she majored in many things including, but not limited to, Medieval Literature and eventually graduated with a B.

Not everything is about marketing. There are companies that do not need that kind of marketing that the article mentions. The way the job has been performed is the best reference for new clients.

Your email address will not be published. Leave this field empty. And the best ways to avoid them Meredith Wood, Fundera Small business owners know their product inside and out. Time lost, money spent: Not spending enough time on marketing The biggest mistake small business owners make with their marketing efforts is not spending enough time on them in the first place. Not spending enough money on marketing campaigns The second biggest culprit for marketing issues is not spending enough money on your campaigns to see meaningful results. Spending too much on marketing campaigns Spending too much on your marketing efforts can be just as bad as spending too little.

And the best ways to avoid them

Not diversifying your marketing efforts Not every marketing mistake boils down to misspent time and money. Not running advertising tests Social media advertising makes it easy to test marketing tactics. Not consulting with experts Operating a small business rarely means you have leftover money to throw at consultants.

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How to avoid the biggest, most common marketing mistakes There are plenty of common mistakes companies can make with their marketing efforts. Keeping one eye on your competitors is smart for deciding how you'll differentiate yourself and stand out in a crowded market. However, this becomes toxic when all you do is compare yourself to them, especially if you feel dejected when you read their success stories and yours don't follow a similar path. Alleviate this by cutting off comparison altogether. Unsubscribe from their email lists, stop following them on social media and block updates from the Facebook groups you're part of that seem to scream about success stories all the time.

This means you decide when you want to update yourself on their progress, rather than having the information pushed in your face all day. Measuring statistics isn't something that's reserved for those making more than six figure incomes. Even if you have a small email list and aren't hitting your monthly income goals, measuring what works and what doesn't is a strong way to start as you mean to go on. Look at email open rates for different subject lines, identify which activities get the most traffic or make the most money, and keep a monthly log of them.

Social media is expertly tailored to speak to one of the most basic of human needs--connection. This is why so many people spend so much time browsing their Twitter feed, scouring Facebook or double-tapping Instagram. The truth is, while social media does help build your brand, it's an investment for the long term. Currently, if the time you spend on social media sites doesn't bring a return, then your time isn't an investment—it's a waste.

To help structure your day better, spend an hour on social media in total, and stick to those sites where your customers are more likely to be. With a shiny, new course being released by your favorite teacher, it's easy to get sucked in and assume it will have the golden bullet to skyrocket your business especially when the sales copy is convincing. To decide if it does, take a look at your previous 12 month purchase history and see what courses or tools you've purchased. How many of them have genuinely moved your business forward?

How many of them have helped you achieve your goals? Remedy this by either setting yourself an income goal, after which you can buy something else, or take a 12 month purchasing fast. Then focus your energy on using the courses and tools you already have to meet your goals before you go on a buying spree again. Working from home, especially after you spent years working in a busy office, can be the most difficult adjustment to make as a new business owner.

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The silence in the room, the lack of water-cooler conversation, the voices in your head While you may not replace old colleagues with new ones, you can explore where you live for viable co-working spaces and caf's to work from a few times a week. Take this a step further and ask friends who they know that's also a solo-preneur.