7 Common Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
7 Common Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Owning a business requires lot of sacrifices. At one point, we are faced with the problem of how to develop an idea, at another time it is the problem of fund raising, at some time it is marketing problem. The truth is, the success you encounter while marketing your product will go a long way in determining the strength of your business. This is why many big businesses endeavor to pour huge money into marketing. Don’t think them as being unwise or not prudent, they know what they want and are trying their best to get it. The best way you can get customers or even make tremendous sales is when you market your business. Unfortunately, it is now so dissatisfying to realize that while you pour a lot of money and time into your advertisement, you still do not get your desired results. This gives many headaches. The truth nonetheless is that there might just be something you are not doing right, you might be making some mistakes. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been an entrepreneur for a short or long term, mistakes have no master, although they let us get better, but there are some mistakes that could be avoided. In this article, I will take you through some of the common mistakes you must endeavor to avoid while marketing your product.
- Lack of self-promotion: many business owners do not see a need for self-promotion which is very wrong. No one will promote you if you have not promoted yourself. Until you tell people what you are involved in, they won’t be thrilled. Besides, there is always an effect word to word marketing creates between you and your customers. You tend to feel the connection. This is because you are speaking directly to them. You also tend to be able to convince them more directly about your product. Some people might not see a reason to buy your product, but when you market to them word to word, you make them see a reason, even reasons to buy your product. Satisfied customers will spread the word for you among their friends and families. You might even end up making more sales than expected through self-promotion
- Wanting to sell to everyone: it is true the main aim of business is to make profits through sales. But you might be making a huge mistake if you do not channel your product to a particular set of people. Streamlining your advertisement to a particular class, age group, gender and so on will go a long way in boosting the growth of your business. Reaching out to ten active customers is better than reaching out to a thousand passive customers. So streamline your advertisement, to a particular set, this help you to work effectively with what you have( number of people), giving you the chance also to follow those people up.
- Ignoring social media: some people think social media is just a waste of time, seeing celebrities display expensive wears, their newly acquired assets among other things. But the actual truth about social media is that it enhances sales. As much as we all love to entertain our sights on social media, we likewise love to get content that are beneficial to us. Advertising on social will help bring your product to a larger populace. Therefore, do not make the mistake of avoiding social media in leveraging your business growth.
7 Common Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
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4. Afraid of public speaking: I have told people countless times that if you are scared of speaking in public places like conferences, in this century, you need to work on yourself. Public speaking is one exceptional attributes every business owners must possess. If you are scared of speaking in public, how then do you promote your goods? How do you make sales? When you speak in conferences, you get to educate people from the little knowledge you know about things, this gives you an avenue to market your product during or after the conference. This could also provide mentoring opportunity for you. There might be participants who got fascinated by your speech and would love to be a mentee to you. In promoting your business, you are also expanding your horizon.
5. Failing to network: networking helps build mutual beneficial relationships between you and others. So networking to the right set of like-minded people will increase the growth of your business. If you are thinking you do not need to network, you might be making a terribly grave mistake. What networking does to you is connect you with the right set of people that will take your business to the next level, so wanting to do without them is like you wanting to remain both the buyer and seller of your product.
7 Common Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
6. Refusing referrals: I beg you, whatever you do, don’t refuse referrals. They tell a lot about you. Not only will a referee get disappointed, but also a satisfied customer who referred will get broken and might even regret ever referring customers to you. This will not only mean a loss of your clients, but also your business reputation.
7. Not giving discounts: discounts could go a long way in promoting your business. Of course, you might not make a usual or normal profit, but it will help you stay connected by reaching a larger audience. Imagine what will happen if MTN slashed data subscription price from #1000 to #400 within a one month period. Sure, MTN might not make the usual profits , but do you know how many internet users will choose MTN for their subscription?. What you actually need for your business to blossom might be a little slash in price so don’t be too stingy in making the mistake.
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(B.Agric, MBA)
08105636015, 08076359735
Serial Entrepreneur - International Business Planning Consultant - Speaker - Trainer - Author - Blogger - Network Marketing professional.
- 2018 SME Business Trainer and Coaching Advisor at GIZ for SME Loop.
- 2018 YALI RLC Online Cohort 9
- 2017 Fellow, Inspire Africa Train-the-Trainer Entrepreneurship programme sponsored by US Consulate Lagos and the Dickey Center, U.S.A.
- 2016 Fellow, Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme
- 2015 Top 50 Innovative Entrepreneurs, BET5 by Diamond Bank and EDC, PAU.
He is an alumnus of Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Lagos Business School (LBS), Pan-Atlantic University (PAU). Through his training, mentoring, speaking and coaching programmes, he has empowered many young people over the years to start and grow their own business, build wealth, create multiple streams of income and achieve financial independence.
- He is a Certified Trainer in Design Thinking by the U.S Consulate, Lagos and the inspire Africa Entrepreneurship Institute.
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