As small business owners, we have small (almost minute) budgets for marketing! So when our marketing doesn’t work, we get frustrated (been there, done that, sent the postcard).
So recently when I was asked to give a 30-minute talk on marketing, I thought well that will be easy! But not really — I realized that it would be hard to give some concrete advice on marketing in just 30 mintues (I mean really — there are tons of full length books written on marketing — what could 30 minutes do???).
That’s when I realized that I could share the rookie mistakes I made and the ones that I see coaches, consultants, healers and other service-based professionals making daily. Let’s get to it — this will be a little longer than my normal post!!
REMINDER: marketing is everything you do that leads to a sales conversation and is made up of 3-M’s:
- message – WHAT you say about what you do
- market – WHO you say it to
- method – HOW you get the message out
Here’s the 7 shocking reasons your marketing may not be working as well as it should be:
1. Not being clear on your marketing message BEFORE choosing your marketing method. In other words, I continue to see business owners worry about their website or their business cards when they aren’t clear (and concise) about their core marketing message. Then what happens is that they waste marketing money and time! (there is a sequence to marketing).
2. Making your marketing message is about you and not your prospect! Your prospect wants to know what you can do for them; what problem you can solve. Most of the time, they don’t really care about your ‘process’ or ‘how’ you are going to help them — it’s about solving their problem! Make a list of the problems that you solve for your prospects — focus your marketing on solving the MAIN problem they have.
3. Using language in your message that is either boring or unclear. Your marketing message has to stimulate your dream client to work with you — make them resonate and react.
I recently used the example of an accountant who talked about depreciation and accruals — when the prospect really wants to know — if the accountant can save them money on their taxes? Or the business coach who talks about transformational leadership — what the heck is that anyway? Use language that a 7-year old will understand.
4. Marketing to everyone. I call this ‘not picking a lane’! Imagine you’re driving down a 3 lane highway and the person in front of you continuously changes lanes — makes you crazy, right? Of course, because it’s confusing!! A confused prospect doesn’t buy!
When you position yourself as an expert (in solving one problem), and build your reputation on it, then people are willing to pay you highly for your expertise. Would you hire a general contractor or a plumber to fix your overflowing toilets? The specialist!!
5. Choosing a marketing method before getting clear on your CORE marketing message. This is like putting the cart before the horse! Spend time and work with someone to help you gt really clear AND concise about what you want your marketing message to be …. then choose your method whether it be facebook, your website, your business card, etc.
6. Trying to learn (and use) too many marketing methods at once. No wonder so many newbie business owners get overwhelmed — there’s a big buffet of marketing methods to choose from and each one of them takes time to learn & implement. That’s why I recommend the top 6 methods (networking, blog/newsletter, social media (one at a time); speaking; sponsorships and referrals. In fact, if you’re just starting out — pick the first 3 to concentrate on!!! It’s quite enough! When you’ve mastered them — then up your game.
7. Not being consistent in your marketing. Today your prospect is hammered with countless messages from a huge variety of sources — and if you aren’t out there being top of mind, you get lost in the noise! So you need to be consistent — blog weekly, social media daily, etc.! AND your message must be consistent throughout all of the methods!!! Don’t be saying one thing on social media and another in your blog!
whew … that’s a lot of mistakes I made. Which ones did you make? Which ones are you still making?
If you are tired of ‘marketing by accident’; settling for whatever business falls in your lap? If you’d like help to SHIFT your biz and marketing so that you are getting the high paying clients you want without the frustration & overwhelm …. then join me at SHIFT (March 31 Montreal and April 7 Ottawa).
This one-day event is a marketing and sales intensive for outrageously smart small biz owners (that’s you, right?). This is a new event which lots of new, great things happening!
And because you are one of my faithful readers, I’m offer you a gift …. get your ticket for only $25 (instead of the early bird price of $97).
Use this discount code ….. at checkout
Montreal ShiftSpringMtl 2017
Ottawa ShiftSpring2017
During SHIFT, we are going to talk about HOW to do your marketing & sales so that you Shift Your Biz into Rich!!!
In gratitude,
Diana
NEWS FLASH — If you want to position yourself as an EXPERT, there’s no better way that being a sponsor at an event. It was huge for me in SHIFTing my business! Interested? Check it out here. Returning sponsors tell me they get at least 10x return on their investment — wouldn’t you like that for your marketing budget?
