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Marketing Misfires

 

-- As seen in the Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Memphis Daily News, by Lori Turner, Managing Partner --

 

There is no joy in watching fellow small business owners commit "marketing misfires."

 

If you’re a small business owner, wearing many hats is the name of the game. It’s easy to push aside marketing efforts when there are paid orders, customer complaints, or personnel challenges.

 

While some of life’s most important lessons are the mistakes we make, you might as well learn from other people’s mistakes on their dime.

 

So for all you small business owners, here are my top ten misfires to avoid:

 

No USP – It’s much more costly to get a result from your marketing efforts without a unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is simply your differentiator – what sets your product or service apart from others in your market.

 

Failure to Test Assumptions – As business owners, we’re often too close to be objective. Is your perceived point of differentiation (USP) valid or compelling enough? Ask your customers before investing in it.

 

Shotgun vs. Finely Targeting – For the most efficient marketing spend, generating the strongest ROI, segment your targets and prioritize. With a limited budget, focus on a single target until you’ve saturated it.

 

“New Is Better” Mentality – New customers are exciting, but finding them takes more time and money than generating additional business from existing customers. Ask your existing customers for more business and referrals before investing to generate new customers.

 

Me Too Messaging – You’re wasting advertising dollars if your messages are too similar to your competitors’. Get creative with your advertising. Think USP.

 

Poor Execution – To save money, you may be tempted to use friends, relatives or cut-rate resources to execute your marketing strategy. You’ll often find you can generate a much stronger return on investment using skilled marketing support. Until you try it, you won’t know.

 

Failure to Consistently Execute – Are you a “Flavor of the Day” marketer? Do you try a little of this and a little of that, not sticking to a strategy long enough to determine its result? Patience, grasshopper; your message has to build through frequency to produce results.

 

Strategy Fatigue – Because you’re so close to it, it’s easy to get bored with your marketing messaging. All too often, small business owners abandon a successful strategy simply because they are tired of it. In reality, your customers and prospects could see the same message for years, and if it’s strong, never tire of it. Losing money is a good reason to change strategy, not boredom.

 

Lack of Measurement – Most sales and marketing strategies can be measured in some form or fashion. Add a product code to your offer, or consider using a trackable phone number or unique URL.

 

Wow! That’s a long list of potential misfires. Maybe you’re thinking it’s better not to do anything. That, my friends, leads me to misfire number 10 – Analysis Paralysis. Many small business owners are so worried about making a marketing misstep, they fail to make decisions and pull the trigger. Inaction can be more costly than making a misstep.

 

So, ready, aim, fire!

 

Contact RedRover for support in planning and executing a successful sales and marketing strategy for your business.

 

Click here for other Rover Treats – low cost sales and marketing tips to keep you leader of the pack in an economy that's gone to the dogs.