Marketing makes or breaks a business, reason why big brands splurge on marketing on different platforms. However, just like every decision in business does not yield desired results, marketing too sometimes fail partly or out rightly. Big names or brands, can afford to forgo the wastage of time money in undesired results due to the cushion in budget. But small businesses or SMEs, in particular, do not get that cushion as they run short on time and resources and so there is little margin for error for SMEs.
This is not as much to say that SMEs should not think about using the power of marketing, they should know the right approach to marketing. Much as they need to know what to do in marketing, they should better know what not to do in marketing to avoid the common mistakes SMEs often commit.
If you are an owner of SME business or are mulling plans to start your own business, sooner or later, you should take note of these don’ts that will give your business the boost it needs to become a brand.
Not Believing in the Need of Marketing
Some small business owners often have preconceived notions such as their business is too small to need marketing at all and they do not need marketing for their products to be sold. Certainly some products and services are strong enough to do that, but not until after people know about them. If you aren’t marketing your business because you think what you have to offer will handle it itself, then you are missing out on opportunities to earn new business, let alone establishing your business a brand.
Some time small business owners think they do not have the required budget to indulge in marketing. This idea stems from the lack of knowledge about or willingness to try new marketing approaches. Digital marketing is the new marketing technique which costs less than traditional marketing campaign and hence is suitable for small business owners or SMEs.
Not Having a Marketing Plan
SMEs often are found lacking in having a proper marketing plan for their business due to lack of clear vision about their own businesses i.e. what their business goals are, how is their business different from that of their competitors.
As a result, many a time, small business owners end up spending too much on adopting wrong marketing techniques. Like every plan in a business, marketing, too, should have a proper layout which is based on the insights about one’s own business and goals.
Not Having Online Presence
Your marketing starts from having your presence on the internet – that is a website for your business. SMEs often think they are too small or too local to run an online presence, so they do not require a website at all. But the truth is customers use internet as the first channel to find out products and solutions provider for their needs. So, a website for your business will only add up to the identity building process of your business among customers, both local and global.
Not Targeting Right Customers
The very basic mistake that small business owners commit is that they do not earmark their target customer group and so they target all as their customers. When it comes to marketing you need to narrow down your target to a recognizable group so you can use best use marketing approaches that work more effectively.
A tricky situation that arises here is too often small business owner are some time too blinded by their the idea about target customer segment that they fail to recognize an actually potential customer segment that goes unnoticed.
Not Focusing on Social Media Marketing
Those business owners who are averse to using new marketing approaches show a dull face to using social media marketing. It is true, although, that small business owners often do not have the time to spend in social media marketing. But this platform can be actually be rewarding and an ideal platform for small business owners. Social media marketing is one of the most affordable and effective marketing techniques for business owners who can focus their efforts and maximize their time spent on social media to yield big results.
A key point to remember here is once they start social media marketing they should avoid abrupt absence from it. Since customer these days search online and keep track of your product and solutions online, if a potential customer sees no activity, that often leaves them wondering if you are still in business and they move on to the next company. So, choose your channel wisely and keep updated.
No comments:
Post a Comment