A couple of days ago I came across a video with Seth Godin sharing some boneheaded marketing mistakes entrepreneurs and small business owners should definitely try to avoid.
Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive and most certainly it doesn’t have to be hard. The key is to know the most common pitfalls and try to avoid them in the first place.
So, why listen to this guy Seth Godin in the first place?
Seth Godin is a powerful and well-respected marketing expert. He is the author of 17 international bestselling books and the owner of the world’s most popular marketing blog. Have you heard of Squidoo? Well, Seth Godin is the founder of this community website platform. People can register for free and create different pages — called Squidoo lenses, share valuable information with like-minded people and sell their products.
Here is the video where he talks about the biggest business and marketing mistakes entrepreneurs make in business:
Avoiding Simple Marketing Mistakes
Short Recap – What are we all doing wrong?
When our reputation is at stake, we tend to fall into one or more of the following three traps:
1. Being impatient: You can’t expect a marketing campaign to work within 2-3 weeks from creating it. You need to take the time to test your message, the copywriting, the platform you’re using to spread the word etc.
2. Being self-absorbed: You can’t expect everybody else to understand your business just because you’re in it all day long and you understand it. Don’t make any assumptions.
3. Being selfish: You need to understand that no one owes you their attention and money.
Fantastic. Now that we’re aware of these business and marketing mistakes, how can we avoid them?
Seth Godin recommends using stories as a marketing weapon. He talks about the importance of differentiating yourself from your competitors by telling stories. People don’t buy products, they buy stories. Therefore the main questions to ask yourself prior to selling your “stuff” are:
- Why should people pick me / my company or brand?
- Why should people care about what I’m doing? (What my company / brand is doing?)
- What’s my story?
It all comes down to understanding your customers because they are the ones that buy your products and services, not you. Therefore invest time to get to know your customers better. Observe their behavior, ask for feedback and engage with them on a regular basis.
Furthermore, Seth Godin suggests we all invest our marketing dollars into creating outstanding products that people can’t stop talking about with friends and followers after using them. Once you’re done with that, create a story around the product or service to spread the word. Make your message easy for people to understand.
How do you invest your marketing dollars? Do you really understand your target audience?
By far the most successful marketing weapon includes the following 3 components:
1. An outstanding product or service
2. Embedded in a great story that is communicated in a clear way, easy for people to understand (special experience)
3. Turning customers into evangelists (Word-of-mouth marketing)
If you want to know what it takes to position yourself strategically, increase brand awareness and create products / services that people buy, make sure you download the 10-page guide I created for you. It’s free.
Do you know of any other marketing mistakes to avoid? What tips do you have for our community?
Image: Canva
