People always ask me for marketing advice. With technology constantly growing, changing and evolving, it feels impossible to keep up with it all, but there are five common mistakes I continue to see businesses and entrepreneurs making when it comes time to market their businesses. If you ever feel like you're speaking into the void and hoping someone bites back, this post is for you! A lot of these mistakes require only simple fixes, it just means we need to really be thoughtful, mindful, and specific about how we are putting ourselves and our businesses out there and how we can attract clients (the right ones) to us and our work!
1.) Stop doing what everyone else is: from logos to colors, designs to images, everything looks the same. We continue to look at what everyone else is doing for inspiration and all of a sudden we all look the same (trust me, this trap can get me, too!) I have a saying, “head down, eyes up.” I want to keep my head down to others work and my eyes on what’s important, what sets me apart, and why I am different than the others in my industry. There are so many new platforms and if you haven't already done it for yourself, you have heard of it, running a FaceBook Ad for a webinar, Pinterest ads or email marketing. Honestly before you ever invest any time or money into anything, the first this is to know your is to know your audience and if you are thinking of doing something, ask your audience. A/B test your products/ads and see what works best according to analytics. Trust me, I have learned the hard way! Please learn from my mistakes (opportunities) and A/B test before you spend money and research your conversion cost, this is what does it cost to get a new client, time, team, etc.
2.) Our pricing only sets us up to be price shopped: Oh, the glorious pricing dilemma, it’s age old and haunts each of us. Remember how we all blend in? Our “about me” sections aren’t telling people why we are different, and we all look the same? Yeah, that’s the recipe to being price shopped. We spend too much time on our websites and Instagram feeds and we forget that our communication needs to be as well thought out and designed as the stuff we post on the world wide web. When we drop the ball on those initial inquiries we are inviting our potential clients to price shop us and that’s just what they will do!
In terms of coming up with a menu of services the first thing you MUST do is look at your service as a product. Even if you are a service, your time knowledge and expertise is still a product. The first step for a menu of services is to sit down (not to price shop) and figure out what you need to live comfortably for your personal life and business life. Do a budget and list all expenses and overhead even software, team members, insurance. You need to know your operating cost first before anything else.
If you want to profit $30/hour for example you have to divide your expenses by what you make and what you will pay yourself. At one point in my business I was charging $250/ hour and was spending so much in overhead I was making $7/ hour once it was all said and done. You simply cant live off of that. Consider this, always do an annual assessment of your budget. You are ever growing and may outgrow some of the tools you are using to grow.
3.) We think there is a quick fix for everything: Instead of taking courses or doing the hard work to set ourselves up for success, we think that if we spend a few hundred dollars here and a few hundred there on advertising, our inboxes will fill with inquiries. Guys, I hate to break it to you, but you want to reach your ideal clients, not just any clients. Instead of wasting money on major websites, spend your time really fine tuning your marketing messaging, your brand, your vision, and your communication! There is no quick fix for the inquiry game, don’t let people trick you into believing that there is.
Being proactive is one of the most important things as an entrepreneur, get ready to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.Think about what are you an expert in and focus on that. Learn from my mistakes. Consistency matters! In the past I have not been clear, if you don't tell consumers what they should know about your brand they will decide/make it up for you.
Don't try to recreate the wheel, find leaders or entrepreneurs that think out side of the box, there are tons of resources out there! If you are really ready to take the next step for you and your business, click here!
