If you are trying to effectively market your business, then you will want to know how to avoid frustration and wasted money. We will be looking at three common marketing mistakes business owners make and how you can avoid them. Specifically, we’ll discuss the importance of differentiating your business from your competitors, knowing who your target customer is, and the importance choosing the right media for your marketing message. After reading this article, you won’t fall into the trap of making these mistakes and your marketing efforts will be much more effective than the average business owner.
The first mistake business owners make is not differentiating themselves from their competition. In other words, the business owner does not give potential customers a compelling reason for doing business with his business rather than his competitors. Every business owner has to answer these two questions: “Why do your customers do business with you?” and “If they aren’t doing business with you, Simon Arias why should they?” Now, you might be asking yourself those questions right now. Good. If you don’t know those answers, you need to spend some time figuring out a how you can stand out from your competition and give potential customers a reason to do business with you. To do that you, need to differentiate yourself one of three ways: by being the price leader; by doing something more or better or different than your competition; or by focusing on a niche in the market. Once you know how you are unique in the market place, it will help you zero in on your target customers.
The second mistake business owners make is not knowing who their target customer is. Most business owners would be hard pressed to give a detailed customer profile on the spot. Because they do not have a clear understanding of their target customer, their advertising misses the mark and is highly ineffective! If your business does not have a clearly defined customer profile, then I suggest creating one today. There are numerous ways to target customers. You can target them geographically, such as customers within a certain state, county, zip code, or even sub-division. You can also target customers geo-demographically by targeting a certain geographic area, and with that area certain demographic segments. Or perhaps you could target a customer group that you have an affinity, or instant recognition or rapport with. To give you an idea of what I mean, there is a bar here in New York City only for people transplanted from Philadelphia. The customers who frequent this bar love Philly cheese steaks, the Eagles, Red Sox, and Flyers. Defining and knowing your target customer then allows you to choose the right media for your marketing message.
A third mistake business owners make is choosing the wrong media for their marketing message. Typically, business owners start here first when marketing their business and end up wasting money by not putting a compelling, unique message in front of a highly targeted audience. Their marketing campaign ends up being a “spray and pray” attempt at bringing in new customers that just does not work. To get the highest ROI for your marketing dollars, take your unique, compelling message and then determine how you can best get that message in front of your target customer. The mediums for delivering your message are numerous. Just remember that you must choose a medium that allows you to track the response so that you can determine your ROI, or return on investment.
Now that you know how to avoid these common marketing mistakes business owners make, the next time you need to create a marketing piece for your business keep these three statements in mind. Remember, you must differentiate yourself from your competitors and you must know who your target audience is so that you can then wisely choose the right marketing medium that will deliver the highest ROI. Now get out there and effectively market your business!