10 Common small business marketing mistakes and how to avoid them

Common marketing pitfalls made by small businesses

Marketing is the lifeblood of any small business, but it's easy to fall into traps that can derail your efforts. This blog aims to share my experiences mentoring circa 100+ small businesses and ensuring your time is well-spent and everything is working together to get the optimum results. Whether you're new to marketing or looking to refine and improve your approach, these tips are universal and I frequently see in many business-to-business organisations.

Don't fall into these 10 traps:

1. Not having a marketing plan

One of the most significant mistakes so many businesses make (both small and large) is not having a marketing plan. As quoted by Pete Jakob, from the Marketing Centre:

Your marketing plan is where you outline your goals and the steps you'll take to achieve them. Without a clear plan, your marketing efforts can become disjointed and ineffective as you aren’t able to allocate resources efficiently. A plan ensures that every pound you spend and every hour you invest contributes towards achieving your business objectives.

2. Disconnect between logo and brand

Another common mistake I see very often is a disconnect between your logo and your brand. Your brand is much greater than your logo and if you're currently looking to refresh your logo, remember you need to have a brand strategy first. 

Your logo is often the first impression customers have of your business, and it needs to reflect your brand's identity and values. A mismatched logo can confuse customers and dilute your message. 

Remember consistency in your branding helps build trust and recognition, which are crucial for long-term success. Consistency in marketing isn't just about the actual execution and your branding, it's the consistency of the message and all your touch points. 

3. Not having a blog

Many businesses overlook the power of blogging. A blog isn’t just a platform for sharing news and updates; it's a critical component of your SEO strategy. Blogging helps improve your website's search engine ranking by providing fresh, relevant content that attracts visitors. 

It also allows you to target specific keywords, driving organic traffic to your site - who often are the most engaged audience that spend the longest on your website.  Plus businesses with blogs produce an average of 67% more leads per month than those without, according to DemandMetrics. Yet so many businesses I’ve spoken to recently have removed blogs from their websites, believing them to be outdated and irrelevant. Don’t make this mistake!  It can be fatal for your SEO where you’ve built up a long list of key phrases you’re ranking well for.

Even if your blog content is old, it can be turned into evergreen content that could last for years. Refreshing old posts with updated statistics and new angles can breathe new life into content so do a quick audit to see how you can repurpose old blogs.

4. Only marketing to new customers

When I get approached by businesses, I’m consistently asked to help increase enquiries, thus the owner of the business believes the solution to growing their business is acquiring new customers.  Always remain open-minded and look at all stages of the marketing funnel. 

Selling to an existing customer is significantly easier and more cost-effective than acquiring a new one. Existing customers are more likely to try new products and spend more money.  In fact, increasing customer retention by just 5% can boost profits by up to 95%. 

Ensure you regularly seek feedback to understand your customers' needs and improve your offerings.  I’m not saying to ignore new customer acquisition completely, but do consider ways to grow your business and profits, by improving customer retention and increasing the lifetime value of a customer.

5. Overlooking data

Ignoring data is a critical mistake even if you believe you know everything about your customers and at first glance there are no patterns. Thus 87% of marketers report that data is their company’s most under-utilized asset according to Invoca, 2023. 

Data provides valuable insights into customer behaviour, preferences, and trends, helping you make informed decisions. Analysing data allows you to identify what's working and what's not in your marketing strategy. It helps you allocate resources efficiently and optimise your campaigns for better results. 

Before you do any analysis, make a list of questions you want to know or should know the answers to. This should include conversion rates, retention rates, customer acquisition costs, average contract values, your most effective lead source, and customer lifetime value. Of course, there will be other metrics.

If your business is expanding and you have multiple people responsible for sales and business development, investing in CRM software is a must.  It will help you manage customer data and improve your marketing efforts. This will make you more efficient and improve conversion rates, condensing the decision-making process, amongst many other things.

6. Not measuring results

Did you know that 18% of businesses admit to not tracking any of their marketing efforts? From my experience, I suspect this figure to be much higher. And that's no disrespect to anyone managing marketing—tracking, measuring, and interpreting data is a skill that requires both time and expertise and crosses over into different departments and roles. 

Too often, businesses are eager to move on to the next big thing without taking a moment to assess whether their past efforts worked and what impact they had.  But if you don't measure your marketing, how can you improve it? How do you know it's working? 

Creating unique URLs, landing pages, and QR codes for each marketing activity is a simple way to get started. It will allow you to track the number of visitors generated from specific events or promotions. Using Google Analytics is always top of my list of free tools to use as well. Plus always define the goal of each marketing activity before you commit to it —whether it's brand awareness, increasing subscribers, or enhancing retention. Think logically about how to measure its success and put a target against it. 

These are just a few methods to consider. If you're new to tracking marketing, try implementing at least one of these. Getting into the habit is the first step.

7. Being on every social platform

You don’t need to be active on every social media platform. While it might seem beneficial, it often leads to diluted efforts and inconsistent messaging and this is without considering the hours and hours of valuable time you could be funneling into something else that will have an impact. 

Instead, identify the social media platforms where your target audience is most active. If you don’t know then find out – ask your customers, look at competitors.  There are always ways to obtain this vital insight.  Then focus your efforts on these platforms to maximise engagement and impact.

8. Not having a marketing budget

Operating without a marketing budget is a recipe for disaster and often where marketing falls down as businesses are swayed by ‘shiny reactive tactics’. A budget helps you allocate resources effectively and ensures you don't overspend. It ensures you prioritise high-impact activities and avoid unnecessary expenses. 

Start by identifying your marketing goals and the resources required to achieve them. Allocate funds to different activities based on their expected ROI and also look at your mix of brand awareness and performance marketing activities – you roughly should have an even split.

9. Assuming you know everything about your customers

Assuming you know your customers without validating your assumptions can lead to ineffective marketing strategies and going down the wrong path. By staying up to date with your evolving customer needs and preferences (remember they will change over time), customer satisfaction will improve which increases the likelihood of conversions. 

10. Expecting immediate results from your marketing

Marketing is a long-term game. Expecting immediate results can lead to disappointment and hasty decisions. Building a successful marketing strategy takes time and consistent effort. 

Focusing on long-term goals helps you build a sustainable marketing strategy. It allows you to make data-driven decisions and optimise your efforts for better results over time. Set realistic, achievable goals for your marketing efforts. Understand that some activities, like SEO and content marketing, take time to show results – at least six months, if not a year. 

Ensure you're making the most of your marketing efforts

Marketing is a complex yet rewarding aspect of running a small business. But it's certainly not easy and requires commitment, patience, and constant refinement. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can make the most of your marketing efforts, getting you closer to achieving your business goals. 

Remember to plan, measure, and adjust your strategy regularly. The customer and market change all the time and your business must respond to this. If you need help refining your marketing strategy, consider consulting with an external marketing expert who will bring impartiality and professional advice. Your business deserves the best, and a focused strategy and plan can make all the difference.

What is your experience of marketing? Have you got any further tips to share? I'd love to hear your experiences. You can connect with me and subscribe to my monthly newsletter The Sharp End here packed with marketing tips.

Photo credit: MimiVP Photography