1. Unprofessional Grammar and Spelling
Some small businesses are in such a rush to get their marketing out there that they forget to check the text that they are using. As a result, misspelled words and other errors can cause great damage. Potential customers will be less likely to take them seriously. After all, if the business cannot be bothered to check their work, how can they be trusted? How can somebody hand over personal information if the establishment is irresponsible? In addition, the business website or banner ads linking to the site will look amateur and sloppy.
2. Unclear Audience
How much money does the target audience make? What is their age? Do they have family or are they single? If a small business cannot answer these questions, they will not have a clear audience. They will not know what language to use or what websites to associate themselves with. Even the audience will question exactly what the business is and what it is trying to do. The less confusion there is, the more success there will be.
3. Lack of Consistency or Cohesion
A company that does not use something that ties everything together, such as a logo, can only confuse their customers. The customer might receive an email from said small business, but not recognize them due to various inconsistencies. If people are seeing different company names, different slogans, and so on, they will not make the connection that it is one business and one business only. It is important to come up with a final plan and stick to it, no matter what might occur. Said plan should be put together in a smart fashion, ensuring that nobody is left in the dark.
4. Lack of Leadership
If people are not communicating with each other, it can be difficult to come up with a successful and suitable marketing campaign. If there is not somebody around to make sure that people are doing what they need to, there are problems. Before moving forward with anything, it should be made clear who is in charge of getting everything to where it should be. Many small business owners put themselves in the spotlight for this kind of task; however, they do not always stick with what they originally planned. They need to hold themselves accountable and take the initiative.
5. No Form of Tracking
If nobody is paying attention to how the marketing campaign is going, how is it possible to know if it is working? A small business may believe that this sort of thing is very complicated, but in fact it can be rather simple with the right tools.
There are various services online that allow businesses to track how people are finding their websites, and how often they visit. If they see that a group outside of their target audience is rather large, they can expand and adjust to bring in more profit.
About the author
Keith Barrett has worked with a significant number of small businesses, looking at marketing via business directory submissions, use of social media and numerous other techniques. He believes that the future is bright for many small businesses.