If you’re not meeting your marketing goals, you might be inadvertently making one–or more–of the most common marketing mistakes I often see coaches, consultants, and online entrepreneurs make.
Here are some marketing truths:
- You won’t sell if you don’t market.
- Expert coaches are known by the people they want to serve.
- Marketing is a way of life. Everyone markets and your ideal clients won’t be offended by your marketing if it’s done right.
These truths exist in every good marketing plan and will help you launch a new business or grow an existing one. But, common marketing mistakes will derail even your best efforts.
As you read through these mistakes, really reflect on your own marketing. Perhaps you’re not making any of these mistakes, and that’d be great.
But, if you are, it is certainly hindering your ability to conduct an effective and profitable marketing strategy.
Mistake #1: Hiding
Let’s face it. It doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do. If you’re not top of mind when your ideal clients need you, your business will fail to launch.
What causes people to make the mistake of ‘Hiding’?
- FEAR: A lot of times the hesitancy to get yourself and your brand out there–the impulse to hide–stems from fear. Fear of feeling like an imposter. Fear of not being sure what you’re doing.
Fear holds you back. And, it makes it impossible for your target audience to get to know, like, and trust you.
Here’s the thing: You know your product or service inside out. Your heart, soul, and energy have gone into creating something of value for your ideal clients. And, that’s what matters. When it comes down to your product or service there’s no need to be fearful because you know it will be beneficial to your ideal clients. With authenticity, your audience will recognize your value.
Plus, your target audience can be there to guide you along the way. You can use them to give you feedback on your messaging or anything else that you might think you lack to ensure you’re getting your expertise across and speaking to them in a way that they understand and relate to.
But, in order to do that though, you have to get yourself out there. You have to be able to be seen and recognized, which leads to…
- INCONSISTENCY: People must be able to recognize your brand. You want them to see your ad on Facebook or your email, and know that it’s your brand. This helps them get to know, like, and trust you and your business. If people don’t recognize your marketing materials, you’ll never establish that familiarity or connection with them. Therefore, it’s essential that you have the same look and feel throughout your marketing.
- STARTING TOO LATE: Too often, coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs want to wait until their product or service is perfect before they put it out there to their ideal audience. The mistake in this is that 1) they fail to build interest in their product/service before it’s time to launch and 2) they miss the opportunity to build trust with their target audience by asking for feedback to improve your product or service as it’s in development.
Instead, generating leads and interest in your product and service prior to launch will ultimately be more successful. Not only will have attracted the right audience to match your brand, your style, and what you have to offer but you’ll have had the opportunity to ask for feedback to ensure your product or service is truly what your market needs.
The mistake of ‘hiding’ delays getting your brand out there to be recognized by your target audience and your success.
Mistake #2: Not Getting Validation
Once you have an idea for an amazing product and service, it’s tempting to silo yourself to figure out every last detail. Unfortunately, a lot of times, people who do this find that they’ve invested so much time and energy into something that people don’t really want or relate to.
If you assume that you know your audience, your customers, and their behavioral intent, they will most likely prove you wrong.
Instead, validate your idea with your target market. Survey them to get feedback that will drive the development of your product or service. This helps you know that what you’re spending your valuable time and energy on is wanted and needed by your ideal clients.
Mistake #3: Focusing on the Wrong Thing
Are you incorporating both the Art or Science of Marketing in your business? If you’re not, you may be focused on the wrong thing.
You may find yourself needing to prove that you have the credentials and expertise to help your clients. But, the Art of Marketing–your messaging–is missing the mark.
To be blunt, if you’re spending your time talking to your audience about you, they will tune out. They simply don’t care about you.
They want to know how you can help THEM. Your messaging needs to focus on your customer. They want to know that you understand their problem and that your product/service will achieve results and provide a solution to their problem.
So, remember: When you’re creating your messaging, your product/service isn’t about you, it’s about your target audience.
Tracking your performance–the data of your business–is the science of marketing. If you don’t track results, how do you know what’s working and what isn’t?
Tracking your results will inform the decisions you make in your business that will ultimately lead to more effective marketing and sales. Determine what works and what doesn’t helps you adjust and adapt to improve in the areas that need it most.
When you use data (or science) to improve the art of your marketing, you create powerful, effective marketing that resonates with your ideal audience and generates success.
Creating a successful marketing strategy is not something that happens overnight. It’s a process.
If any of these mistakes sound familiar, prioritize addressing ONE at a time. Trying to fix multiple at once will only end up with you making Mistake #3. But, giving your attention to one at a time allows you to find the root of the problem and make adjustments to fix it.
If you’re not sure where to start or if feeling completely overwhelmed by online marketing, contact me today to chat about it!
For more information about Dating Your Ideal Client and more, check out my Marketing Matchmaker podcast!