Ten Mistake

Ten Marketing Mistakes

THE TEN WORST MARKETING MISTAKES
THAT NEARLY EVERY BUSINESSES MAKES !

How You Can Turn Them into a Gold Mine for YOUR Business !

*Not Delighting & Satisfying Your Current Customers*
	Your business MUST deliver a quality product or service, on time, and meet, even exceed the customers expectations! You MUST assure that the buying experience delights the customer! Marketing to get new customers will never be able to keep up with the negative publicity you generate if your business is not meeting your customers expectations. This sounds simple and obvious but how often do we fail to go the extra mile, or we are just 15 minutes late, or fail to follow up with a loyal customer to assure their needs were met and that they will return again. The cost to implement Customer Satisfaction Programs for customers is minimal compared to acquiring New customers for your business.
*Running Institution Advertising*
	A name, rank and serial number ad that does not have a clear identifiable message and benefit to the customer and that leads them to an immediate measurable response, is an extravagance that most small businesses can not afford. Refocusing your advertising, measuring your response and testing alternative approaches are the key to successful advertising.
*Not Capitalizing on the Lifetime Value of a Customer*
	You must know and optimize the lifetime value of your customers. The most successful businesses generate over seventy percent of their revenue from strategies aimed at cultivating their existing customers. This is a win-win situation. They receive valuable services from a company they know and you get continuing revenue and profit with minimal expense. The lifetime value of a customer determines how much you can afford to spend to acquire a new customer or to retain a current customer.
*Not Having a Strategic Marketing Position*
	Your SMP must show a clear customer benefit and be something that sets your business apart from the competition. For example “Delivered in 30 Minutes or it is Free”… What is yours? Lowest Cost.. Largest Selection.. Open 24 Hours.. No Risk Guarantee.. Personal Service… Your SMP separates you from your competition and focuses your business on a customer benefit that makes you unique in the market. .
*Not Having a Back End*
	A Backend is additional products or services that you offer/sell to your customers after they have already purchased something while they are still in the store, after they have returned to their home or business, and every two/three/four months. It is five times easier to sell an additional product or service to an existing *satisfied* customer than a new customer.
*Failing to Follow Up after the Sale*
	Were they happy with their experience with your business? Are there other services or products that you offer that they need or which would increase the usefulness or enjoyment of the product or service they bought from you? What additional products or services would they be interested in sometime in the future? Is there anything that would have made their experience better? Following up after the sale gives you another chance to sell a backend product or service and to identify any operational or quality problems in your business that will prevent that customer from purchasing from you in the future. Once you have identified a problem or negative experiences your customer had doing business with you, you must fix them. Contact after the sale is so rare that you set your business as something special to your customers! Customers buy MORE from businesses that make them feel special!
*Confusing Advertising with Marketing*
	Advertising is only one component of marketing and is one way to get a customer in your door for the first time. Marketing brings them in over and over. Marketing plants your SMP (Strategic Marketing Position) in the hearts and minds of your customers and builds your reputation and image. Good marketing focuses on optimizing every sale, customer experience, and opportunity to grow your business with the least amount of investment, advertising, or effort.
*Marketing Products/Services Not the Benefits to the Customer*
	Everyone wants to know how your product will improve their life, their business, their success or image. Focus on what your customer wants and needs and the product sale will follow. Sure you may have come in to buy a washer for your home but the cheapest washer or the biggest or the most feature rich version will not do you much good if it will not deliver you clean clothes. Always think of Feature, Function, and Benefit. For example: A large load washer (Feature) allows you to wash twice as many items at the same time (Function) and saves you time and money (Benefit). Spell it out and make the benefits so outstanding they must buy what you are selling.
*Failure to Use the Marketing Tools Available to make their Business Grow*
	There are over 100 different marketing tools that can be used to grow your business. Two of these that are overlooked the most are using risk reversal as part of your offer or your SMP, and failing to use host beneficiary relationships. Effective usage of these two marketing weapons are applicable to almost any business. Assessing your usage of the 100 Marketing Tools and adding to your tool kit those additional tools that apply to your business will show major improvements in your business results and your bottom line. Of these 100 tools, many are low cost or no cost items that will distinguish your business from your competition.
*Failure to have a coordinated Marketing Focus and Calendar*
	A full fledged bound report on market opportunities may be something that would be nice to have but clear Marketing Plans and Actions combined with a marketing calendar and budget are essential. With your Marketing Action Plan you focus in on who your customers are, how you are going to reach them, and how you are going to apply the marketing weapons that you feel are most appropriate. With the marketing calendar, you lay out a clear battle plan and budget for the next year. This eliminates the guesswork in what you need to do this week or next to market and grow your business. With the Marketing Action Plan and Calendar, you are able to focus in on successful marketing activities and to double up your marketing efforts on those that give you the most benefit for your marketing dollar. This is truly the way to optimize your time, your efforts, your investments and your returns for your business.