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As a start-up owner, one thing you definitely need to get right is marketing. After all, you do not get a second chance to make a first impression. The last thing you want to do is blow all of your budget on marketing and it fall flat. With start-up failure rates at a high level, a move like this is simply going to make you another statistic. We don’t want that to happen, so read on to discover some of the most common start-up marketing blunders that you need to avoid if you want to ensure success.
Focusing too much one the competition –Yes, it is important to see what the competition is up to when starting up your own business. Assessing the competition is a great way to discover what they are doing right and where they are going wrong. However, there becomes a point whereby you can get too obsessed with what your competitors are doing. If you simply follow that another firm is doing, how do you expect to better them? The key is to be unique and cultivate your own voice. So, while you should take note of what others are doing, you need to look for new ways of thinking and focus on innovation too.
Signing up to every social media platform you can find – A targeted approach is much better than attempting to be present on all social media channels possible. If you do the latter, you are going to spread yourself too thin, and you will struggle to make a real impact. Instead, find out where your customers are and then make sure you are there too.
Not using blogs effectively – A blog is a must-have for any business today. Not only do blogs give you the platform to boost your SEO strategy, but they also give you a way to show that you are an expert in the industry and to engage with consumers by giving them useful and insightful information that they may not find anywhere else. If you don’t have a blog, this is your first mistake. But, let’s say you do have a blog? If so, make sure you are not committing one of the following errors; posting inconsistently, using your blog for an endless stream of promotions, incorporating poor quality links, and failing to integrate your blog with other marketing platforms, such as social media.
Targeting the wrong audience – You may think you have put together an excellent marketing campaign, but if you are not targeting the right audience, what is the point? You may think that this is a silly mistake to make, but you would be surprised by how many business owners have not taken the time to truly understand their customers. You need to get an understanding of what your typical consumer is like, what their needs are, and what problems they have, so that you can solve them.
Trying to handle everything in-house – This is undoubtedly one of the biggest mistakes that start-up owners make. It is admirable that you want to do everything yourself, but if you spread yourself too thin it could be to the detriment of your business. Moreover, do you really have the time to learn everything that you need to know to get your digital marketing strategy right? You certainly won’t have the funds to set up your own in-house marketing department from the get go – you have more pressing concerns to deal with.
You don’t review your marketing strategy – Unfortunately, you cannot simply put a marketing campaign in place and then forget about it. This is something that needs to be reviewed on a consistent basis. The online world never remains stagnant, and so you cannot either, otherwise you will only get left behind. You need to use analytics to determine what elements of your campaign are working, and where improvements can be made.
If you can avoid all of the errors that have been discussed in this blog post, you can make sure you have the best chance of marketing your new business successfully and giving yourself the best introduction into your industry. You don’t need to spend a fortune on marketing to get it right, but you do need to do your research and plot your moves carefully.