February 2017 – NextGear Marketing

When you have a small business, there is typically less room for error. Every decision you make is important, so it is vital that you get the most out of every move you make. This is especially true when it comes you your marketing. Too many marketing mistakes can cost you valuable time and money, while good marketing decisions will help your business grow.

Let’s look at some common marketing mistakes many small business owners make, along with strategies you can implement to avoid them:

1. Going Too Cheap

Remember the old adage “You have to spend money to make money.” It’s true. There are affordable and effective marketing strategies out there, but you don’t want to cheap out on all marketing. There is a big difference between being smart with your investments and being a cheapskate. Do your research and spend your marketing dollars wisely.

2. Overlook Your Marketing Budget

Part of investing in marketing is staying within a budget. Be as aggressive as you can without going beyond your means. Also, remember a budget shouldn’t be set in stone. Every year (if not every quarter), you should review your marketing budget. As your business grows, so should your budget.

3. The Dreaded Shotgun Approach

You aren’t Coca-Cola or Budweiser. You don’t have millions of dollars to spend on marketing and advertising every year. This means you should target your marketing as much as possible. Identify your ideal customers and find effective means to reach them directly. We’re talking ad placements in targeted publications or specific sections of publications. We’re talking social media marketing and Google Adwords that can be dialed in to reach a narrow audience. We’re talking SEO-oriented web content, direct mail, blogs and email campaigns designed to generate calls to action from your target audience.

4. Failing to Do Research

Haphazard marketing leads to inconsistent results. Study what your competition is doing. Research your target audience and their spending habits. Look at all your marketing and media options before investing in a full-scale marketing campaign. In other words, look before you leap.

5. Not Paying Attention to Your Results

Again, every marketing decision you make is crucial to your success. Track your results, understand where leads are coming from and know what is working (and what is not). This will enable you to adjust your strategies and distribute your budget in a way that is most effective as time goes on. Never stop tracking your marketing results.

6. DIY Disasters

There are some areas in life where you can get away with a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. Unless you’ve studied marketing (branding, media placement, graphic design, copywriting, SEO/web content, social media strategy, etc.), you will be at a disadvantage. You will make more mistakes at the beginning or you may not be able to notice the mistakes you are making. Consider investing in professional marketing services, just like you would your business attorney or accountant. Let the experts do what they do best while you are focusing on other important components of your business.

NextGear Marketing offers a wide variety of marketing services catered to small businesses. We understand you have a budget, and we know how to help you get the most of it. From our custom web content, blogging and social media management packages to creating high-quality branding and marketing materials for your company, we provide all the marketing services you need at an affordable rate. NextGear Marketing is a small business, as well, so we know what it takes to help your small business achieve more.