Marketing Red Flags You Need To Stop Doing

Marketing is not something that you can ignore as a small business owner. At some point you will have to use marketing strategies and channels to grow your business. Marketing does not have to be difficult or confusing – but there are some common mistakes (or marketing red flags) that could be hurting your small business.

Marketing red flags you need to avoid in your marketing include: thinking everyone is your target audience, being inconsistent, ignoring analytics, focusing only on new customers, and only doing one form of marketing. 

Thinking Everyone is Your Target Audience

Knowing your target audience is the first, cardinal rule of marketing – and not having one is one of the biggest marketing red flags. Every business has a target audience, even if the product seems like one that everyone needs. A great example of this is toilet paper. Everyone needs toilet paper (hopefully) – but each toilet paper brand is different and focuses on a different target audience. One ply toilet paper does not have to be the best quality because their target audience is those who are looking to buy in bulk and save money (hotels, restaurants, etc.). 

There are organic toilet paper brands that are more expensive than other brands, but they know that their target audience is willing to pay the premium price. 

If your small business is trying to target everyone, then you will likely not be able to really connect with anyone. 

Inconsistency

Inconsistency can hurt your marketing efforts in multiple ways. Inconsistent communication with your customers will lead to your small business no longer being top of mind. Inconsistent branding makes it harder for your audience to recognize and remember your brand. Not only that, but inconsistency in branding also hurts your credibility. You do not look like a reputable brand and it is probably confusing potential customers. Inconsistent messaging in social media marketing makes it difficult for you to grow your target audience – and makes it easier for consumers to miss your messaging. 

Yes, inconsistency is one of the marketing red flags, but consistency sounds easier than it tends to be. The key is not to bite off more than you can chew. You absolutely do not need to post every day on social media. Consistently posting 3 times a week can be just as effective as long as you are consistent. It is much more likely that a small business owner can commit to 3 times a week than once a day. Find what works for you and commit yourself to it.

Ignoring Analytics

This is one of the worst marketing red flags you could be doing as a small business owner. Your analytics should be like gold to you. As a small business, the only way you can truly confirm that your marketing is effective is with analytics. It can also help you better understand your consumers and what they are looking for from your small business. 

Not collecting analytics is definitely a problem, and something you should fix. IGNORING analytics is an even bigger red flag. 

If your consumers are providing you with feedback, but you ignore it because you think it does not matter, or it would be too much effort to try to fix – your consumers will notice that. They’ll see that you do not value their opinions or feedback, which will hurt the relationship you worked to build. It diminishes credibility and trust.

If you are ignoring the analytics of your marketing efforts because you believe you KNOW it’s working and do not need validation – you’re probably wasting money and time. 

It could be that the ad is running really well, but if you looked at your analytics you would be able to find a change that could make your ad run even better. Not looking at, or ignoring, your analytics is purposely closing your eyes so that you are in the dark with what is going on in your marketing.

Focusing only on New Customers

New customers are expensive. According to Harvard Business Review, it can cost anywhere from 5 to 25 times MORE to attract new customers compared to returning customers. If you are focusing all your marketing efforts on attracting new customers, you could be falling victim to the marketing red flags and spending more money than you need to.

Marketing to your already existing customers can be cost effective and much more efficient. They have already started a relationship with your small business, it’ll be easier to convince them to make another purchase.

Note: This is only true if you provide people with quality customer service and you stay CONSISTENT with that quality. If the first experience someone has with your business is negative, they will not come back. If the second experience someone has with your business is negative, that definitely hurts your chances of them returning again. This is why listening to customer feedback is important. If you hear about someone’s bad experience, reach out to them AND fix the issue they had, they are much more likely to give your business another chance.

Doing Only ONE Form of Marketing

Marketing (and being a business owner) is about experimenting and finding what works best for your small business. If you are only focusing on one form of marketing, you are doing yourself a disservice and limiting your opportunities to grow. Diversifying your marketing efforts will allow you to not only reach different segments of your target market, it will also help you find what strategies work best for your business.

It could be that the marketing channel you had never used before is the one that will kickstart your small business. You’ll never know if you never try something new.

Avoiding these marketing red flags will help your small business’s marketing strategy. If you are looking for more information on these red flags, and specific information on what to do instead – check out this episode of the Small Owned Business (S.O.B.) Marketing podcast.

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Feel free to share your thoughts with me, I can be reached at vivian@theseasonedmarketer.com!

Looking for more free marketing tips and content specifically for small business owners? Check out our podcast, S.O.B. Marketing Podcast. Every Thursday we discuss a new topic to help small business owners take on marketing on their own. Listen to our episode of the S.O.B. Marketing podcast wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube! Have a topic you want us to discuss? Email us at Help@TheSeasonedMarketer.com!

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