I Helped 2,459 Businesses Grow & Here’s What I Learned — Do This, Not That
5 Marketing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money
42% of startups fail because there’s no market for their product or service, followed by other common reasons such as lack of cash and starting off with the wrong team.
The pandemic has been keeping many business owners on their toes. And it’s not surprising why. This year alone, more than 100,000 US businesses had to close indefinitely. Yet, some companies managed to stay afloat, and what’s more, increased their revenue. But how?
Unfortunately, there’s no magic fortune teller that can predict how your business will perform in the future. Every day you have to commit to make-or-break decisions that impact your business success during these uncertain times.
The only constant in business is that the world is constantly changing. You have to reinvent your business and make the right decisions all the time. However, it doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel.
The thing is, even when the economy isn’t on the brink of collapse, about 90% of startups still fail. It means that it takes a lot of effort, experimentation, smart business choices, experience, and a bit of luck to ensure you’re among that 10% that succeed.
I have worked with over 2,459 clients from various industries from all around the world. This gave me an opportunity to have a broader perspective on why so many businesses struggle and whether there’s a pattern in their decision-making process.
So, here are the most common marketing mistakes that you might be making without even realizing it. Not only do they cost you money, but they also ultimately lead to slowing down your growth. Try to avoid them, and you can get one step closer to fulfilling your business aspirations.
Mistake #1: Not Knowing Your Results
“I never guess, it is a shocking habit — destructive to the logical faculty.” — Sherlock Holmes
You need to know what you’re spending your money on and whether it’s worth it.
For example, you might be paying for social media posts, while the one blog you wrote three months ago is actually bringing you most of your total traffic organically. Or you might be paying for ads that bring only clicks, but no sales.
If your ROI is positive, maybe you should invest more into the best performing platforms and cut the budget for the least performing ones, or stop using some of them at all.
If you want to avoid ruining your marketing efforts, here are a few questions you need to ask yourself:
- What is your cost per lead?
- What is your ROI?
- What is your most important audience demographic?
- How many people visited your website last month?
- Are your website visitors turning into customers?
- How much time do people spend on your site?
- What is your most successful channel?
Mistake #2: Not Investing in SEO & Content Because It’s Too Slow
“Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.” — Dalai Lama
Did you know that 90% of web pages never get any traffic? While it’s good to run successful advertising campaigns, it’s still crucial to work on your website’s SEO & Content to get free organic traffic and leads.
Yes, you can’t see the results overnight, but, in the long run, quality content and proper SEO optimizations will pay off by bringing you more website visitors and prospects.
If your website doesn’t get enough organic traffic, maybe it’s time to create a proper content plan to boost it.
But first, here are a few important questions you need to ask yourself:
- Do you have any articles on the first page of Google?
- Is your content bringing you any traffic?
- Do you have a content plan in place?
- How much time do people spend reading your content?
- Do people share your blog posts?
- Has your content generated any leads or sales?
Mistake #3: Not Running Advertising Campaigns Because Your Budget Is Small
“Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time.” — Henry Ford
The key to successful advertising isn’t only in increasing your daily budget but also making sure to set up your campaigns properly.
It includes creating a strong strategy, following the best practices, targeting keywords with a high search volume, keeping a close eye on your competitors, constantly testing new ads and ideas, and knowing your industry advertising averages to have realistic expectations.
If you spend a fortune without getting results, maybe you should restructure your campaigns, stop focusing on low-performing keywords, change your bidding strategy, create better ads, and review your target audiences.
These are the questions you need to ask yourself:
- How many site visitors do you have from Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn Ads?
- Are you remarketing to previous website visitors and clients?
- What is the Click-Through Rate of your ads?
- How often do you create new ads?
- What is your advertising ROI and cost per lead?
- Are you taking advantage of advanced and new ad formats?
- How much money do you invest compared to your competitors?
Mistake #4: Ignoring Social Media
“Content is fire; social media is gasoline.” — Jay Baer
Writing amazing content without sharing it is pointless. Now, almost everyone has a profile on various social media platforms, including your customers.
And if you aren’t taking advantage of this free opportunity to reach your target audience, you might be slowing down your marketing efforts.
If you don’t remember the last time you posted on social or whether you even have a business profile, maybe you should start working on improving your social media strategy.
Here are a few important questions you need to ask yourself before jumping to any conclusions:
- Do you have a Facebook Business Page?
- When was your last company post on social media?
- How many followers do you have on social media?
- Do you have trust signals such as testimonials and reviews?
- How many website visitors are coming from social media?
- Do you have a social media calendar?
- When was the last time you optimized your strategy?
- Are your competitors active on social media?
Mistake #5: Neglecting Your Website
“A bad website is like a grumpy salesperson.” — Jakob Nielsen
Your website is the face of your business. If it doesn’t give a good first impression, no one will want to revisit it.
Since marketing’s primary goal is to bring people to your site, its quality is responsible for the results of all your marketing efforts, including SEO and Google Ads.
If you see that users leave your site shortly after opening it and you have only a few sales, maybe it means you need to improve your website to attract more leads.
Here are a few important questions you need to ask yourself:
- Is your site fast?
- Does your site look good on mobile?
- When was the last time you updated your website?
- Do you have testimonials on your site?
- How do you generate leads from your website?
If you can’t answer these questions or the answer doesn’t satisfy you, it’s the sign you need to rethink your marketing. Simple as that.
Takeaway
It’s not easy to start a business, and it’s even harder to run it successfully. However, as long as you set realistic goals, make data-driven decisions, and get ready to act in both good and bad times, you might achieve your business goals sooner than you think.
Remember that success doesn’t come without pitfalls. And if you learn from your mistakes instead of putting your hands down every time something goes wrong, you’ll eventually turn that knowledge into your strength.
Curious to see whether your marketing strategy has any flaws? Take this free audit and get to know the answer today! (P.S. No marketing experience needed)
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