Small and Medium Business Marketing: 12 Mistakes
The economic revolution brought about by marketing has not only and exclusively affected the entrepreneurial giants. A winning campaign can be an excellent development tool for SMEs to become the benchmark of their sector.
Are you the owner or marketing manager of a small or medium-sized business that is looking for a push to take off and establish itself as a reference point in its sector? If you too need smart, valid and interesting solutions with which to revolutionize your concept of growth, this article is right for you.
We have decided to open a brief overview of the 12 mistakes to avoid when embarking on a marketing plan. The reason? Knowing in depth the communication dynamics allows you to start a path aimed at the growth of your business reality.
12 Errors to Avoid
1 – Do Not Take Care of the Communication and Image of Your Business
Communication is the real workhorse that every entrepreneur should learn to exploit to his advantage. Leaving out the image of your business means not being recognizable in the panorama of your competitors. An advice? Start with using Google My Business, to enrich your web profile and create a reputation around your presence in the online market.
2 – Ignore Online Marketing and the Tools Made Available by the Internet
Marketing is a constantly evolving sector and the task of an entrepreneur – who does not want to be left out – is to keep up with the times by exploiting the possibilities that the internet has to offer: from social management to the creation of an effective newsletter, there are many possibilities in the sector that should not be underestimated to enhance your online presence.
3 – Underestimate the Benefits of Having a Well-Optimized Website Well Positioned on Search Engines
Google selects – according to special algorithms – the value that your website holds on the search engine most used by your potential customers. How can you optimize your online presence then? Simple: writing content with a view to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the first step to climb the ranking of your competitors, establishing yourself as the first useful result for the highest number of searches. The professionals – the SEO Specialists – are highly trained figures to help you with this arduous task. And if you love the feud-you, keep in mind the most important elements: keywords, tags, headings and images useful for the reader.
4 – Limit Yourself to Doing Isolated Advertising Actions Without Having a Marketing Strategy and System
A marketing campaign aims to create a loyal user base for your products, who can therefore recognize themselves in the values of your brand; investing useful funds in advertising campaigns without an underlying skeleton, in other words, risks making you waste precious time and money in flashes of notoriety that you will not be able to turn into revenue. Always remember that your goal is not to have more readers or users of your web content; your aim is to turn those readers into paying customers!
5 – Do Not Differentiate Yourself From the Competition and Do Not Make Your Offer / Company Special
Competitors may offer services / products similar to those of your company. How are you able to overcome them? Understanding the dynamics that move your business reality in a winning way, therefore, is the first step to promote the real benefits that you are able to offer to your potential commercial interlocutors. Observe the competition and stand out: marketing is also synonymous with originality and creativity!
6 – Do Not Take Care of the Quality of Their Products or Services
Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers for a single second: you would be happy to feel abandoned after the conclusion of a deal ? The answer is certainly no. Well, every customer is first of all a person who wants to be followed, heartened and listened to. Facebook and Google My Business are great platforms to voice the opinion of your buyers.
7 – Not Having Scalable Products or Services, and Front End and Back End Services or Products
Generally, Front End means the sale of a basic product at a low cost, a book or a DVD for example, a guide or any negligible object for the final income of the company. These items, therefore, can be channeled into the final sale – the Back End – more substantial and profitable for the entrepreneur. Not surprisingly, Robert Cialdini talks about the same marketing principle under the name of Coherence: asking for a small stake pushes the user to invest heavily in the future.
8 – Not Having a Target Audience
The target is the ideal audience to which a given marketing campaign is interfaced; the secret is not to speak to everyone, but only to those who may be interested in your products / services. In this way you will not only be able to find smart and highly functional advertising ideas, but you will also be able to develop a communicative dynamic designed specifically for your average commercial interlocutor.
9 – Do Not Invest Time in the Use of Social Networks
Social media, as we have already mentioned previously, allow you to create empathy and humanity in the communication between seller and customer; creating a community loyal to your products always passes through an enhancement of each user. And what better medium than Facebook, Instagram and Twitter? Investing time – to respond to messages, for example – will allow you to offer responsiveness and proactivity with your customers.
10 – Not Having a Clear Mission and Not Making It Clear to Potential Customers
What is the ultimate goal of your company? How do you intend to satisfy your commercial interlocutors? Create promotional messages that take into account the goal you have set for yourself, so as to communicate with clarity and honesty with your community.
11 – Do Not Invest Time in Training on New Marketing Methods and Systems
How do you plan to enhance your company without knowing the dynamics that move the digital world? The web is full of e-learning courses and guides to keep you updated; the time has come to go back to (digital) books to refine the basic techniques that will allow you to grow professionally.
12 – Stop Studying Competitors, the Market and Stop Innovating
We conclude with the most serious mistake not to commit if you want to enhance your business. Contemporaneity runs fast, and your training phase must be fast! Study your competitors, participate in networking opportunities with professionals who have won their challenges before you, and keep an eye on current trends. Knowledge is power!