Love it or hate it, marketing is a necessary part of creating a successful business. If you happen to reside in the “hate it” camp, it could be because you feel like marketing means you have to be pushy, sales-y or fake. We’ve all had the experience of having someone try to “sell” us and it doesn’t feel good.
Fortunately, such tactics are not necessary to enjoy a profitable business. And that is certainly NOT the Smart Simple Marketing way. To me, marketing is simply a matter of sharing solutions with people who are already looking for them.
You and I both face a number of problems each day, both in our personal and professional lives. And of course, we are always on the lookout for solutions to those problems. We seek solutions that are simple, easy and provide a return on our investment.
So as long as you’re showing up when and where your ideal clients are looking for the solutions you offer (aka marketing), you will have a never-ending stream of great clients to work with.
What you don’t want to do is shoot yourself in the foot by making common mistakes that will undermine your efforts. Take a moment to take stock of what you’re doing to grow your business and make sure that you aren’t making one of these critical errors:
- Spending too little time on your marketing – Focusing on your marketing only when you remember to do so (or worse yet, when you need more clients) is a really bad way to approach growing your business. Marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Commit to doing something specific EVERY day to grow your business and achieve your goals. All of all the effort you put forth will add up to BIG results.
- Not choosing a target market – Marketing to “everyone” because “everyone” needs what you have to offer is going to exhaust and frustrate you. Even IF everyone needs what you offer (which I don’t think is really true), you don’t have the time, budget or energy to market to them, let alone work with them all. So, FOCUS your energy on marketing ONLY to your target audience. You’ll get much better results and take a lot of pressure off yourself.
- Trying to do too much – You don’t have to pursue 19 different marketing strategies to be successful. And you shouldn’t because you can’t juggle that many projects anyway. Choose 2-3 strategies that really fit your audience and your goals, and stick with them.
- Giving up too soon – You can’t try something for one day or one week and then throw it aside because you didn’t get the results you wanted. There is no magic wand you can wave to instantly transform your business. If you choose a particular strategy, stick with it for at least 3 months and see it through. THEN you can make an informed decision about whether to continue with it, tweak it or ditch it.
- Not following up promptly – All the effort you put forth to market your business is for naught if you don’t follow-up on the leads you get. Make it a point to follow-up on ALL interest promptly (within 24-48 hours). This shows your prospect that you are diligent, committed and serious, which significantly boosts your credibility.
If you find that you are making one of these mistakes (or all of them), don’t beat yourself up. At one point or another every entrepreneur, even those you admire greatly, have fallen victim to these pitfalls.
Instead, be honest about where you’re falling short and make the decision to do something about it. All of these problem areas we’ve highlighted can easily be addressed with a simple mindset shift, a commitment to change and a focus on follow through.
If you would like some help taking the first step, I will gladly walk you step-by-step through the process of creating a simple Money Map. Having this tool in hand will keep you focused and help you makeover your less than stellar marketing habits. Get INSTANT access to this powerful marketing tool at http://www.createyourmoneymap.com.
Amy Kinnaird says
Gosh, follow up is so important. Two weeks ago I had an opportunity to follow up with about 25 people from a presentation I had done. I had sold some sessions right away, but then when I emailed everyone about the discount deadline nearing, I had 2 more sessions booked. That was 2 clients and a nice bit of change that I wouldn’t have had without the follow up.
I’d like to think of marketing not as a marathon, but as a nice, easy trail run, or bike ride through the woods. Sounds much easier than a marathon to me! ha!
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Thanks for sharing your follow up experience Amy! It’s amazing what kind of results you can enjoy when you put forth the effort. Congrats to you on those two extra sales! And I appreciate your bike riding analogy. That should help those who prefer a leisurely
ride over a run! 🙂
Brenda Stanton says
Great tips Syndi – as always. It’s so true, what we resist persists…so if we “hate” marketing we’ll continue to resist it and the painful aspect to it will be there. But, with your suggestions, if we embrace it and find ways to not only like it, but love it, then we’re FREE!
I love your articles, thank you! xo
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Thanks for your note Brenda! I really want to help my audience to appreciate that marketing can be fun and you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. In fact the more each of us focus on our unique talents and abilities, the easier it will be to connect with the people we were meant to serve, which can only create a win-win for everyone involved. 🙂
Gina Bell says
Golden Nugget Alert right here >> “marketing is simply a matter of sharing solutions with people who are already looking for them.” YES! And what I try to remind myself of daily is if I don’t communicate this to my community I am doing them a dis-service. Discovering what your clients really want and need from you and giving it to them is a beautiful thing. Thanks for the reminder Sydni and a spotlight on all of the ways we sabotage ourselves in this area. xo
Jennifer Bourn says
Oooh not choosing a target market or ideal client is the worst offense. When you try to speak to everyone, no one will identify with your message and say – “THAT’S FOR ME!”
Thanks for the great reminders … I find myself doing some of these at times.
Kristi LeGue says
When I had my CPA practice, I used to shutter at the thought of having to “sell” someone on the fact that they needed my services. However, your comment about marketing is simply a matter of sharing solutions to people that are already looking for them was a turning point for me. Someone I knew at the time enlightened me to that and it completely shifted my thinking. When I thought of it like that, I enjoyed networking and marketing my business.
Whenever I think of sales, I think of those sleazy used car salesmen that we all don’t like. But, when it was put to me that way, I could completely relate. Just like Gina said, we are doing people a dis-service if we do not share with them what we do.
Thank you so much for the reminders!
Andrea Costantine says
Great post. I find that I often fall into the trap of not doing enough “real” marketing – by getting sidetracked by other to-do’s and demands and giving up too soon. “Yep, that didn’t work.” Both are definitely fatal errors for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
I think purposeful action is one way to overcome these challenges and to continue assessing all that I’m doing by asking, “is this taking me closer to my goals?”
Thanks for a great post!
Ayo Fashola says
The most common pitfall of marketing is LOOKING BORING. I go to networking events and people have no panache or flair. If you LOOK BORING anywhere….I’m not EVEN INTERESTED in talking to you, let alone will I visit your website. I need you to look like you know something I don’t.
Have a personal style and express it…confidently
Style/Wardrobe Consultant
Ayo