Marketing is an essential part of promoting your small business. Everyone makes mistakes, but as a small business, those mistakes can eat away at your marketing budget. Here are a few marketing mistakes small businesses tend to make and how you can avoid them.
Not Understanding Your Target Audience
If you don’t know who your target audience is, then how are you going to market to them? Most small businesses have a general idea of who they’re trying to reach but lack concrete customer personas. Having a concrete idea will help guide marketing strategies and maximize your budget.
It’s important to take the time to sit down and think about what kind of person you want to sell to. Get as specific as you can. Include age, where they live, their job title, what industry they’re in, what they like, what they don’t like, what problems they experience, and so on. The deeper you dive into who your target audience is, the better you can sell to them.
If you’re not tracking results, you don’t know what’s working (or not working).
Not Tracking Results
This is one of the most common mistakes small businesses make. If you’re not tracking results, you don’t know what’s working (or not working). Tracking goals on your website with Google Analytics or conversions through your pay-per-click ads is important to know how your business is doing. The worst part of not tracking your results? There’s no way for you to know how to improve. Bottom line: if you aren’t tracking results then you’re practically throwing your money away.
Not Keeping Note of Your Competitors
This is another thing small business owners tend to ignore completely. But keeping tabs on your competitors is actually important for how you go forward with your marketing. Even if they aren’t in your town, find a few other businesses like yours that are doing well and study their marketing. You can find out a lot about what’s been successful and what hasn’t. Take note of what tactics they use month after month and which ones they used once and never again. You can learn from their mistakes without having to make them yourself.
Having a well-rounded online presence is an important and proactive way to promote your business.
Not Having a Strong Online Presence
Believe it or not, but one-third of all small businesses in the U.S. don’t have a website. This is one of the mistakes small businesses make that can be the most devastating. Some small business owners think that because they’re local or have a single location, they don’t need a website. But things have changed and 90% of consumers search online for products and services nowadays.
Not only are websites crucial, but having a well-rounded online presence is an important and proactive way to promote your business. Tools like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google are not just for fun. They can help give you access to your target audience and give customers a way to learn about your business. Your online presence can drive real results and give valuable insights when used correctly.
We’re Here to Help
These mistakes small businesses make are all avoidable, but when you’re busy running your company, it can be hard to tackle them on your own. But we at BPetersonDesign can assist you! We can help create a website for your business, as well as create a strategy-based social media presence that will drive results. We have been assisting small businesses with growth since 2008 and would love to help you out! We’re located in Cave Creek, Arizona, and Montrose, Colorado, but serve nationwide.
