The Marketing Bureau

First Published on www.getmarketsavvy.com  

Many times when talking to small business owners, I hear and see some of the same mishaps that ultimately lead to their demise.  Unfortunately, by the time I hear about it, the business is on the brink of failure and the owner is discouraged from salvaging the pieces.  Fortunately, there are things that small business owners can do to avoid the likelihood of failure. But the key is to make sure the issues are addressed well BEFORE the first sign of trouble.  

Here is a list of the the top 3 mistakes that small business owners are making right out the door.

Let’s make sure YOU DON’T make any of these missteps.  If you are, then STOP! If not, GREAT! Just make sure you don’t start…EVER!

1.  Not knowing your customer and not having a target market.  

It would be foolish to think that your business has unlimited funds readily available to spend on advertising and promoting your business to any and everyone that walks across your path.  So, why then would you not know who your REAL customers are so that you can spend your advertising budget on those who would ultimately bring in revenue? Many small business owners make the mistake of not understanding who their revenue generating customers are so that they could focus their attention on getting more of that business. Instead, they waste time and resources on everyone when the likelihood of a return on investment is minimal at best.  Make sure you do your due diligence and research the markets to which you currently and wish to serve and focus your attention on those customers.

2.  Not allocating enough of your operating budget to marketing.  

New and existing businesses looking to grow their business must make their public aware of their presence.  The only way to do so is through your business’s marketing efforts.  All too many times, small businesses think of marketing as an afterthought or think that by passing out a 1-page flyer, this is all the advertising that they will need.  Oftentimes, these efforts result in wasted time and little to no customers.  People spend a lot of time in advertising mode, but no time in marketing mode.  This point goes back to mistake #1, not knowing who your target market is.  Marketing efforts will provide you with the information needed about the markets to which you are competing.  Furthermore, marketing will inform the necessary plans of action to get these customers.  Advertising is simply an action within that plan.  Small business owners make the mistake of allocating their budget to advertising (or their version of advertising), but very little is allocated to marketing.  Small businesses that want to grow, need to beef up their marketing efforts in order to compete effectively.

3.  Not having a marketing strategy in place before diving straight into business.  

Small business owners make the mistake of diving into business without a marketing strategy (or business plan) in place that would help keep them focus on their primary reason for going into business in the first place.  Because of this, many small business owners end up finding themselves going in a direction they do not wish to find themselves.  Without a business plan in place, business owners find themselves not really understanding their business or even worse not knowing how to mitigate issues that could have been planned for in the first place.  Without a marketing strategy in place, business owners find themselves not understanding the markets to which they are or should be competing in and not providing enough value to their customers.  Before going into business, small business owners should first invest the time and resources to developing a business plan and marketing strategy.