6 myths getting in the way of your marketing success
If you’ve talked to other successful small business owners, then you know that marketing has played a big part in their business growth. You’ve come away inspired and thinking that you can use marketing to grow your business too.
But, there’s something getting in the way of you achieving your marketing success. That thing is the myths that surround marketing your business. In fact, I’ve come across six of them, that I’m going to share with you.
1. Planning a marketing campaign takes too much time
A lot of small businesses I meet are marketing in bits and pieces. They don’t use marketing campaigns, and that makes their marketing ineffective. Once I explain that a campaign is an action you push out to pull a reaction from your audience, they get what they have to do. But they tell me one BIG thing is getting in their way. It will take too much time. It’s this myth that’s holding them back from really successful marketing. Putting all your marketing resources into a campaign means your message is seen more frequently, in more places and by more people. Yes, it will take some time to plan a marketing campaign, but, and this is a BIG but, it will save you so much time in the long run. You won’t have to think about what you’re going to post on social media, or put in your newsletter, or even blog about. You’ll have a plan and will have done the thinking, so all you need to do is the doing!
2. Marketing campaigns take a lot of money
Yes, marketing does mean spending money, but you don’t have to have big budgets to achieve your marketing objectives. Many things can be done for free, as there are a lot of free marketing tools out there. You can, for example, use social media completely free of charge. The only thing you need to pay for is advertising – only if you want to. I am going to put this out there, though. You do need to spend some money. Make sure you spend it wisely. For instance, lots of businesses tell me they’ll use a free email tool instead of paying for one. This means they are losing out on so many of the functions that let them use email marketing as part of their campaigns. Be prepared to spend money to achieve successful marketing, but make sure you spend it on the right things.
3. I can fit marketing in whilst running my business
In the early days of your business, this might be true. But what are you missing out on doing for your business by spending time figuring out your marketing? How much focus can you give to marketing your business whilst you’re trying to figure out your stock or are at a customer meeting? There are definitely things in your business that need you to do them, and then there are things other people can help you with. You have an accountant to keep your finances healthy, so why wouldn’t you have a marketing expert to do the same for your marketing? Remember in point 2, above, I said you will need to spend some money on marketing? Well, this is one of the worthwhile things on which to spend your money.
4. I only need social media for my marketing
If I had a pound for every small business owner that said this to me, I could enjoy a very luxurious holiday! Don’t get me wrong, social media is a must for all small businesses. It just shouldn’t be the only thing in your marketing toolbox. Why? There are two reasons: it’s getting harder for businesses to show up in people’s newsfeeds, and you don’t own your followers’ personal data. So, whilst social media is great for getting you in front of a wider audience, you will have to work at it, and even spend money on advertising. By making social media a part of your overall marketing campaign, you can use it more effectively and move people to places you own, such as your email list or your website.
5. I’m going to get referrals, so I don’t need marketing
Again, if I had a pound… Yes, referrals are great. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that you should be getting the majority of your business through referrals. The only thing with this approach is that it takes time. Do you really have time to wait for your business to start making money? I can see a lot of heads shaking at this point. So, don’t sit around waiting for those referrals to start coming in. Plan a marketing campaign that will help you find new leads that you can work on to turn into customers. Also, remember that any new customers that you find this way will also become referrers, so don’t discount marketing your business because you think you’ll get plenty of referrals.
6. If it’s not broken, why fix it?
I saw an image on social media recently with the following phrase:
The most dangerous phrase in the English language:
we’ve always done it this way.
Do you know why it’s dangerous? It’s stopping you from trying new things that could really impact your business in a positive way. Even if you’re marketing your business successfully now, would you really turn away more business? I didn’t think so! Being open to trying new things is a great way to refresh your marketing and find new ways of getting better results. Just make sure it’s part of your overall plan and helps you achieve your goals.