Do you make these 10 common marketing mistakes? (Part 2)

We all make mistakes, but you can avoid these common ones to grow your business

Read Part 1 of marketing mistakes to avoid here.

Mistake 6: Set up pay-per-click web adverts

Then ignore the wealth of information available from Google.

Pay-per-click is an effective targeted way of getting your message out to potential customers. But the best keywords are expensive, so you need to be sure you're getting value for money.

Check out the wealth of data provided by Google about your campaigns - you can see where your ad is appearing, how many people are clicking through, which keywords are working best for you, and when your ads are getting the best response. Use this information to improve your ad's effectiveness.

Mistake 7: Send press releases about your business to the local press

Readers of the local newspaper don't care about you or your company. They're not heartless, they're just busy. Journalists and editors know this, and so they want to provide content that is relevant and interesting.

Your new Whizzy Cutter 5000 Lawnmower may be a revolution in the world of garden appliances, but the local newspaper may not be quite as excited about it as you are.

Think of newsworthy angles to the story. Think like a journalist.

Consider holding an event to attract potential customers and the press - continuing with the example above, a lawnmower race, or a competition to see who can mow their strip of grass the fastest, with the winner receiving one of your Whizzy Cutter 5000s.

Be creative (and don't forget your risk assessments....) and you'll be surprised at the response.

Mistake 8: Sell to everyone

Who is your customer? Who wants to buy your product? Everyone? Please don't say everyone.

The more specialist your niche, the more you can establish yourself as an expert in that field, and deliver great service (at a premium).

Selling everything to everyone is already covered by the giants of Walmart and Tesco. If you were selling a £1million house, would you use the local general estate agent, or would you sell it through the agent that specialises in selling million pound properties?

As a specialist you can clearly identify your customers and the problems you can solve for them with your product.

This helps you target your marketing messages and delight every time.

Mistake 9: "I am an island"

Running any small business can be lonely if you don't have a network of support. But when do you have time to network? Meetings and conferences take time, but there are other ways to build useful links with other professionals.

There are online forums where you can ask questions, share problems and get feedback from others in your sector.

Take a look at:

And talk to other local businesses - those in your sector, and those in other sectors that your customers may also purchase from. Both parties can benefit from referrals and recommendations.

Mistake 10: Relax at the lack of customer complaints

If you haven't had any customer complaints for a while, you're probably just relieved. No explanations or apologies. But is the lack of complaints evidence of happy customers? Not necessarily.

We've all read those headline figures that a dissatisfied customer will tell around 20 people about their bad experience (and normally none of those people are you or your company, so you stay in the dark).

So ask for feedback - include a customer survey postcard with every order, add a feedback button to your website, when regular customers call or pop in to your premises, ask them for their feedback.

Use the comments to make improvements, then ask again (and again).

Bonus tip

Mistake 11: More haste less speed

Proof read everything. Don't hit send, print or publish until you've shut down your machine, gone home, relaxed and then read it again after a night's sleep.

You'll be amazed at how many little tweaks you make to it the next day.

Read Part 1 of the Top 10 Marketing Mistakes To Avoid

If you'd like to learn more about how to market your business, there are specialist marketing courses available at venues throughout Cornwall, from event planning and web design to Chartered Institute of Marketing professional qualifications.

Find out more online, call 0800 731 7594 or email enquiries@ccb.cornwall.ac.uk.

This article is part of a series of free business resources available from Cornwall College Business.

Cornwall College Business is not responsible for the content of external sites.