More and more people are taking the self-employment route these days. However, the key to succeeding the small and micro-business route is to ensure you avoid making some of the most common marketing mistakes. Here are some of the small business pitfalls to watch out for:
Not actually planning your marketing
Promoting a small business won’t work unless you set apart time and effort to plan what you’re going to do. There’s a lot of competition out there, and simply doing marketing ‘on the fly’ won’t get the job done. Ensure you have a firm plan in place.
Not having a USP (Unique Selling Point) in place
You need to ensure that there is at least ONE thing in place that sets your business apart from your competition. This will be the focus of your marketing. Maybe it’s that you’re more expensive, but that you make no compromises whatsoever on quality. Or maybe it’s the reverse; maybe you offer the cheapest service in town. Whatever you do, though, you need to be different in some way.
Underestimating direct marketing
The internet’s a wonderful thing when it comes to marketing, but that doesn’t mean you should forget classic direct marketing principles. If you’ve got a good offer, then promoting it locally using well-designed leaflets and a commercial printers for your leaflet printing WILL work. For more information on the principles of direct marketing, check out this excellent blog post by DMN3: 7 Essential Keys to Direct Marketing Success.
Trying to market to everyone
You’ll never make everyone happy, and there’s no point trying. If you’re not prepared to drill down into a specific audience, you’ll never get truly loyal customers. The more firmly you have an audience in mind, the more you can tailor your marketing messages to them, and the better your results will be. If you try to please everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no-one.
Underestimating word of mouth
No matter how much technology takes over the world of marketing, there’s still no better way of getting customers than being so good that your existing customers can’t help but tell their friends! If you insist on setting high standards and offering a brilliant service, you’ll enjoy a constant stream of new customers without having to pay a penny for them.
Not keeping an eye on your competition
Once small businesses gain a foothold in the market, it can be easy to rest on your laurels. However, you should always keep an eye on what the competition is doing: they only need to get a head start on you once to start cleaning up. Make sure that you’re always aware of what competing businesses are up to marketing wise, as you can learn from both their successes and their mistakes.
Get in touch
We can help you promote your business in your local area with leaflet design and printing along with a host of other products. Pick up the phone and call us today to find out more. PrintUK.com