5 Troubling Marketing Mistakes
Marketing refers to everything. Internet marketing, promotions you mail out, newspaper ads, radio advertising … EVERYTHING.
Unless you are the most popular builder in your area and leads just fly in the door every day or if you are the ONLY builder and have no competition … then either you’re dreaming or living in Antarctica. But, if you do have competition and if you need to develop leads, then you’ll need to market and promote your company with the best practices available today.
It’s hard work. Everyone else has the same goals in mind and there is no room for poor quality or mysterious methods.
But, let’s look at the other side … 5 of the common mistakes people make when trying to market their company.
1. Not DOING It We don’t have the budget. I don’t have the time as an owner/operator.
All of this adds up to NOT DOING IT. If you don’t have a budget for promotion, then you won’t promote, then you won’t get business and you eventually will have no budget at all. This is called going out of business. People need to know that your company is there, so you have to do some kind of marketing to get your business known.
2. No TARGET
Who is your target market? What do you want to achieve with marketing?
You probably have a target for the amount of income you need every month to pay your mortgage and car payment and buy groceries. It’s the same with your marketing needs.
Without targets for marketing it all becomes a mish-mash. If you know what kind of client you want and what kind of work you are best at … you have a target. When you clarify that you want to have leads coming in about a certain type of work or from a certain area, then you can develop excellent marketing campaigns to TARGET the people who are looking for someone to do that work; or target the someone’s who are looking for a company in their area.
3. Focus on the WRONG Things
Honestly, the size of your logo is not important to marketing. Taking up valuable print or website space to talk about what your mission is for the company or your corporate goals is NOT important to marketing. “Well that’s all about us – how do you like us so far?”
Marketing must focus on what your potential client needs or wants. You must tell a potential customer that you can do what they need, and tell them why they should hire you to do it. Don’t focus on the wrong information.
4. Same Old – Same OLD
It’s a fast world out there. People are looking up information on their cell phones thousands of times a day.
The boring old ad that’s been around for the last 10 years isn’t going to make it in this new digital age.
You don’t have to be bleeding-edge, but you do have to be knowledgeable and involved with the current methods of how consumers get their information and make their choices. Don’t need a website? Think again.
Don’t need to change wording or pictures in your ads. Yes you do. Talking down to customers: “we’re the best – just because – so call us”. Ummmm, no, that’s not going to work either.
Look and listen to what’s going on. Make your marketing sing by observing how people make their choices today and determine what you have to do to get their attention first and then to create interest in your company.
5. Using BAFFLE-GAB is a No-No
Using confusing language, or 6 buzzwords per paragraph, or huge words to sound important, or stating the obvious in a ‘new way’ makes what you are saying incomprehensible and/or it just seems silly. BAFFLE-GAB is a definite marketing mistake.
Talk to your potential customer.
Treat them with respect.
Tell them what you offer and why you can do it best. It doesn’t hurt to give them an offer they can’t refuse; but make sure you can follow through.
Marketing isn’t rocket science but some people will make you think that it is (think bafflegab here). In our society today, marketing is important to every business. It’s not a bad word! It means making yourself or your company known to the public. That’s how you get business in the door.
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There are lot more mistakes that can be made. But, there IS a right way to market a company, so take that road … and leave the mistakes for someone else.
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Wren spent many years as a senior executive managing various companies and portfolios before founding Results Professional Marketing. She specializes in marketing, internet marketing, and business consulting. ResultsPM is proud to have the award winning Kerr Construction as one of their premier clients.
