What’s an epidemic is that over 90% of all new businesses will fail within the first 2 years, a statistic that many are up against but don’t really need to be. But the numbers don’t lie as the causalities mount, as many will sabotage their own success from the outset.
The issue becomes that the majority of small businesses think they have an effective plan when marketing their business, where in fact they’re just slashing their own opportunities. What’s vital is that a fail proof plan needs to be formulated from the beginning.
All of the mechanics of marketing are in place, such as they running streamlined ads into a sales funnel, this in the attempts to attract targeted leads and customers.
They are also writing regular routine unique content for their blog, this in the effort to position themselves as an authority in their industry. So they think they’re doing an adequate job marketing on a routine basis.
Basic Marketing Done Right
They’re doing most of the “right” things, yet are still not successful. What needs are all the components to be perfected and not just certain segments, this to eliminate they not becoming another victim.
Not Having A Fail Proof Marketing Pan
What a well structured plan does is focuses efforts allowing to maximize one’s marketing budget. Unfortunately, what most will do is begin without a plan, as they forgo this step, thinking it’s easier to make decisions on the fly.
So before you begin, what’s needed is a precise tight plan which illustrates a step-by-step plan on your marketing efforts based on your budget. This plan should be reviewed and revised on a monthly basis.
A Written Marketing Plan On Paper
What successful business owners have are written goals along with objectives for what they’re wanting to achieve, while documenting their marketing activities. This may be dry and boring but a necessity.
There’s indisputable proof that those who take the time to put their goals into writing, has a higher success rate than those who don’t bother.
Also, there’s no way of developing a plan unless there are concrete objectives. What you need is a clear vision, timeline, and targets to aim for. You can’t possibly determine what type of marketing you’ll do, if you have no idea what you’re targets are.
Having Long-term Plans
Those who settle on short-term results are reactive in nature, while on the surface it appears they’re doing effective marketing. They don’t bother to do anything consistent or anything long-term to get measurable results.
They expect results from running an ad or contributing to their blog. Nothing happens, so they get discouraged and give up, or try something different. Most do nothing which doesn’t cost anything, while others quit too soon which becomes expensive.
What the statistics show is that consumers need to be be exposed to an ad up to 8 times before they take notice or take action. So your customer most likely isn’t exposed enough, as most marketers will give up too early.
Knowing Your USP
The most common and worst way that most marketers sabotage their success without even realizing it, is that they don’t have a clear concise Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
The greatest marketing plan in the world won’t convert if there’s no clearly defined reason why someone should buy your product. A reason to consider your product instead of the multitudes of other products that are available to them.
If you haven’t yet decided what your USP is, which is something that’s unique or better about your product or service than what your competition offers, then create one.
A compelling competitive edge that you have, along with a way of establishing this brand in everything you do. If you don’t have one, you’re wasting your marketing time, effort, and budget.
Ways To Improve Marketing Effectiveness
• Develop A Written Marketing Plan – Make sure that your number one priority is to develop and maintain a workable marketing plan every month and on a yearly basis
• Written Objectives – Write objectives stating the results you want to reach in your business in the upcoming year. Write one objective for every marketing activity you undertake, stating exactly what you’re looking for from taking that action
• Stay On Course – Always be checking your progress towards your objectives every 1 to 3 months, while giving your long-term plan up to 12 months to take effect
• Determine What Your USP Is – Formulate what your unique selling proposition is, and make sure that it’s represented clearly and in a compelling way in everything you do
• Don’t Try To Please Everyone – Never be “everything to everyone.” Focus directly on just a few specific benefits to a specific niche audience
• Keep Track – Make sure that you concisely track all of your online marketing activities, this so you know exactly what’s working and what’s not working
• Diversified Marketing – Never rely on just one marketing activity or strategy. Employ a mix of several different marketing tactics to reach more targeted consumers
• Develop A System – A systematic way on how to help you stay on track with all of your marketing activities. Find what works to help you formulate your future plans
• Have A Realistic Budget – Base it on a percentage of your projected revenue, or the funds that you have available for marketing, and then stick with it. Marketing is an investment, but is also hit and miss. You need to spend enough to make progress, but not more than what your business can support
• Understanding Your Demographics – Know the environment, economy, and competition, the strength of your industry, and your prospects situation. You need to have a firm grasp to create an effective plan, to overcome obstacles while taking advantage of opportunities