3 Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses are Making

Small business owners wear a lot of hats. Day-to-day operations you are doing everything from bookkeeping, scheduling, orders, customer service, and marketing. It's easy to place "less immediate" tasks at the bottom of the list; however, if you wish to grow, your marketing needs to take a higher priority. Here are three marketing mistakes small businesses are making and how you can fix them.

1. Neglecting Online Presence

Having an online presence for your business is no longer optional.

Customers tend to search online to get a feel for the business before they click book or order; your website says a lot about how you run your business. Are you organized? Do you provide clear communication and good customer service? Are you transparent when it comes to your products and services?

Your online presence is typically the first impression potential customers have. If your site is not user-friendly and consistent with your brand, they will move on to someone else.

How to fix it:

Invest your time and money into creating a friendly and welcoming website that clearly portrays your business values and how you can help. A modern website will bring in new leads. Something to be Said offers website copy and design services at reasonable prices within your budget.

2. Not Knowing The Customer

You don't need to be everywhere at once. Some companies will try to overcompensate for their lack of online presence by creating accounts on every social media platform; this is unrealistic. Targeting a smaller, precise audience is more efficient and cost-effective in the long term.

How to fix it:

Create your ideal customer. Draft a person from scratch and write down everything from their employment, income, race, and age to their likes, interests, and dislikes. This person should represent your business values and who you serve. Use search engines to identify where you can find your target audience: where they live and spend their time, what sites they visit, and what challenges they face. Your marketing messages should be catered to this group, everything from your tone of voice and language to design choices.

3. Overlooking The Power of Consistency

I am guilty of this. My life as a busy mom, wife, and writer leaves little time for my blogs and social media. Instead of carving out the time for it, I keep telling myself, "I'll take care of that tomorrow," then tomorrow becomes the next day, then the one after that, until I haven't posted in two weeks and I lose to the algorithm.

This mistake will cost you followers and views. Inconsistency creates confusion and weakens your brand and your message. When customers see your brand regularly, they will remember you and begin to trust you.

How to fix it:

Develop a content calendar and plan out your social media in advance. Find a few hours in your schedule every two weeks to create and schedule your posts. Not all posts need to contain tons of information or be amazing videos. Quick thoughts and simple images count too.

Marketing requires attention and a well-thought-out approach. When you jump into it or only post and manage your website when you have the extra minutes, your business begins to hurt. Understanding these three common marketing mistakes and how to avoid them can save you in the future.