Living in the world of modern technology had many advantages and disadvantages. Fortunately for all of us, the list of advantages is a lot longer. That especially counts when we talk about the business world. Entrepreneurs now have more options to reach their target audience and promote their products/services.
However, keep in mind that opportunity like that is available to everyone. Because of that, each entrepreneur must get out of the box and be creative. Indeed, the online world is full of opportunities, and promoting there would be a great thing. However, you can’t underestimate the importance of offline marketing as well.
Logically, advertising online is a more complex thing. For instance, you truly need to be a professional to get on the first page of Google. Fortunately, if you get stuck, you can always collaborate with marketing agencies like Digital Muscle. Of course, if you feel like you can do it alone, then you can give it a try. However, be sure that your marketing skills truly are good.
Anyway, we are not here to tell you what exactly you should do. On the contrary, we would like to talk about common marketing misconceptions that can hurt your business. If you still haven’t made any of the mistakes from below, you will get the most valuable lesson for the future. Let’s get to the point and find out together those marketing misconceptions.
“I Don’t Need a Marketing Plan”
You can often hear people saying that they don’t need the marketing plan. However, starting a business without a good promotion plan is a big mistake. That especially counts when we talk about small businesses. The quality of the products or services that you offer is not going to be enough for your progress.
Despite that, a good marketing plan can tell you more about your target audience. For instance, you will know which channels and tactics would be the best ones for using. Despite that, you will know certain characteristics of your audience. You might discover their gender, age, location, interests, education, etc. All these pieces of information will help you to boost the quality of your promotion.
I Know Who My Target Audience Is
Let’s imagine that you decided on running ad campaigns on social media. For something like that, you will need to determine their characteristics. We highlighted some of them in the previous part. However, determining your target audience and the channel where you will send the message you want is not enough. The message that you are sending needs to be matchable with their requirements and expectations.
Also, you can’t use the same marketing tactic for all the purposes. Some tactics are good for lead generation. On the other hand, you need to send a message differently if you want to increase your sales. Which type of ad/tactic you will use depends only on your customer. Because of that, you should know that their characteristics won’t tell you the full story. Analyze carefully which results you get for each ad campaign you run.
I Don’t Need to Spend a Fortune on Marketing
We believe that every entrepreneur understands the influence of marketing on their business. However, it seems that the majority of them don’t understand that a good quality marketing campaign requires regular investing. Because of that, they often don’t invest enough for results that will bring them success.
Things become even more complex when the marketing campaign brings good results. They believe it is enough because they reached the desired results. However, you need to understand that hundreds of other businesses are doing the same thing as you. If you want to remain competitive, then you should always be a step ahead of them. In this case, you should invest more money in marketing campaigns compared to them.
When Things Are Bad – Cut the Marketing Budget
We will continue in the same manner. Keep in mind that the business world is full of uncertainty. You will experience many ups and downs that can negatively influence your motivation. However, those changes are an unskippable part and we recommend you get used to it as soon as possible.
When the tough moments come, cutting the marketing budget would be the worst mistake. You should focus on cutting some other expenses and the amount of money you invest in promotion should remain the same. However, that doesn’t mean you should stick to the same strategy as before. You should analyze carefully why the campaign is not bringing the best possible results. After finding the gaps, make the necessary changes that can potentially fix the situation.
Being Present on Social Media is Irrelevant
Social media networks like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are a strong advertising tool. There is no need to talk about statistics and the number of users. Simply take a closer look at your surroundings and you will see that almost everyone is using them. Some of them are using only one while others will have an account on every platform. Not being present there limits your potential to grow in the future.
It doesn’t truly matter what you are offering to the customers. Be sure that all of your competitors are using them. The reach is not the only reason why you should use social media for business purposes. Companies that are using them can provide good quality customer support as well. Providing the best possible experience for your users is the number one thing that influences your success.
Marketing Won’t Pay Off Soon
In today’s world, things become viral over the night. Indeed, it might happen that money from the investments you made won’t come soon. However, if that’s the case, then there is something wrong with your advertising. You just need to know the strategies that will bring you the best possible results. If you struggle to do that, collaborating with the marketing experts might be the solution.
Marketing Only Serves to Improve Your Sales
We need to end this article with the most common marketing misconception of all. Entrepreneurs invest in marketing because they want to boost their sales. However, making more money should not be the main goal. The main purpose of developing a marketing plan is to find the best possible way to send a valuable message. People don’t get impressed with engaging campaigns and great products. The majority of brands similar to yours will offer them the same.
You need to explain to them, through promotion, that your product/service can somehow improve the quality of their life. If you manage to do that, you can be sure that your marketing will pay off soon.
