Errors happen regardless of 'what type' of business industry
you're operating. Employees make critical errors on a daily
basis. This is often due to the company's size, the number
of employees, and the inability for management to review
departmental progress. To avoid some of the critical
marketing errors that occur, you need to recognize and
evaluate your strategies.
Nonexistent Marketing Plan
It is rare that a small business owner will actually make a
marketing plan. This is because most small businesses are
started with precious little capital and the concern over a
marketing strategy is nonexistent.
Success in any business depends upon a carefully constructed
marketing plan. You would not go on a road trip without a
map, so why go into business without a plan to guide you on
the journey? Going into business is inviting failure and if
you simply break the marketing down into its core elements,
you will find that you feel more confident about your
business and its chances of success.
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Ignoring the Market
When, where, what, and who are all good questions to ask
yourself. Not assessing the market is a common error. The
audience that you are targeting must be attainable. If it
is not, then failure awaits.
"Who" refers to the type of customer that purchases the
company's products and/or services? This often begins with
listing by genders, age groups, ethnic groups, and local
establishments.
"Where" is where your prospects are located. This might
include the immediate area surrounding your business and
also the location of competitor's customers.
You also need to know what limits are in place. Location is
critical so found out about the location of your competition
and what areas they service. Knowing this will help you
found out if any limitation need to be looked into further.
Interchanging Products and Services
Business diehards often enter one endeavor after another
without being specific. Mass confusion occurs when this
happens because there is no definition of "what type" of
products and/or services the company sells. Most of these
businesses use the term "full-service" as a title of what
they do for the customer. Interchanging products and
services may fatten your profit, but it causes too much
customer confusion to be worthwhile.
Nonexistent Business Plan
A business with no plan guiding it is destined for
problems. You also don't want a plan that is dependent upon
the actions and advice of others. People want things that
are tangible so your dream must be believable and a plan
helps make it so. Every step in the process should be
carefully thought out and executed by you and you alone.
The foundation of a company ultimately rests upon your
knowledge and experience. |
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Not Responding to Customers
Businesses need to react quick in this fast paced world to
the concerns of their customers because a slow or delayed
response will cost customers. The holidays are a prime
example.
The customer has no time to spare. He runs into a
department store for a last minute item and finds a line 50
people long.
Will this customer wait around? Will the manager start
up another line to speed things along?
Clearly, the right thing is B. To keep the customers from
bolting towards the competition, the manager should open up
another line.
You are less likely to commit marketing errors once you are
aware of them. Review your basic strategies on a monthly
basis to check for chinks in your armor. You might even
consider spending the money for a business consultant to
come in and help you iron out all of the details. Such an
investment may well prove worthwhile in the long run. |
About the author:
David Kingston is the chief editor for
FAT Marketing,
the best place on the internet when you're after
fresh up to date advice and comment to do with Business.
For further information on Business please visit:
http://www.fatmarketing.com/articles
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