4 Common Communication & Marketing Mistakes That Hurt Your Business

By Daron Powers
Consultant

Facts: 

•    You want a profitable business. Communication and marketing are key elements in attracting more business.
•    It’s easy to become embroiled in the day-to-day—and often next to impossible to find the time to focus on strategy or the bigger picture.
•    Hoping and wishing for more business doesn’t work well in this economic climate. Whether your goal is to survive, thrive or both, marketing and promo must be done consistently.
•    You’re not alone.

When it comes to communication and promoting your business, you can do it yourself, delegate, or collaborate with a marketing professional. However you choose, it’s wise to have some basic marketing knowledge in your hip pocket.

What follows are four common yet deadly marketing and communication sins businesses of all types and sizes make and how to overcome each one.

ONE. Copying the competitor’s promo…

The critical question every business must ask of themselves is… Why should prospects buy from us?

If you look and sound just like your competitor, then you are perceived as no better or no worse. I’ve seen countless business people copy others when they are not sure what to say or how to say it.

To overcome that “me too” syndrome leading to consumer apathy, you must communicate with authenticity and credibility. Get to the heart and soul of what actually makes you stand out. Survey your current clients for why they use your products and services.

TWO. Poor communication…

Open any newspaper, magazine ad, website promo, flyer, brochure and you’ll see and hear things like…

“Buy from us because we have the highest quality, best service, most professional, in business since 1910, family owned and operated, licensed, degreed, we do it right the first time,” etc.

This is genuinely “boring” because these phrases are overused.

Lose the dull lifeless meaningless language. Get a competent marketer and copywriter who can actually distill your difference in terms your audience can understand.

THREE. Falling in love with pretty design…

There are many talented graphic designers. However, websites or promo that look graphically attractive may in fact be missing actual pulling power. Remember a major goal in marketing is to communicate in a way that moves your intended audience to action.

Focus on content first, then graphical design. Content is king.

Make sure your communication and promo follows this marketing equation… Interrupt, Engage, Educate and Offer

FOUR. Dabbling in marketing…

It’s helpful to have some key principles under your belt such as the ideas laid out here. However, dabbling in marketing can lead to poor and costly decisions. Sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know and that can cost a lot of wasted time, effort and money. The point is…

Stick to What You do Well.

Listen, you can’t be expected to be an expert at everything. Be honest with yourself. Learn what you can about elements of good communication and promo.

Enlist qualified professionals who are passionate about marketing and actually do it for a living. They can take your business to a whole new level in a way you simply can’t when dabbling or spreading yourself too thin.

SUMMARY

The toughest part for smart business people to fully grasp is the importance of developing the communication message, i.e. what you say, how you say it, and who you say it to.  Often we’re just so busy working “in” the business, it becomes challenging to step back and work “on” the business strategy and message.

Without effective messaging, you are likely to waste tons of money on pretty websites, glossy brochures, fancy flyers, flashy video, and so on. Spending money on the delivery system for your message before you have an effective strategy and message to send is a plan for disaster.

Truth is that without competent guidance or a powerful strategy, communicating your message can be a hit or miss proposition. Fortunately you don’t have to know it all.

Like medicine, accounting or the law, marketing is an acquired skill. If you don’t have the time, focus or energy to learn how to communicate your expertise with precision, you are not alone. Avoid the stress.

Free yourself and your staff to concentrate on what you do best.

Copyright 2014 Daron Powers

Daron Powers consults and speaks with professionals, small, midsized and fortune 500 companies and collaborates with businesses to develop and refine marketing strategy/plans, content for websites, article writing, online videos, web marketing, sales presentations, selling tools, etc. Visit his two websites: DaronPowers.com and OnlineVideoPower.com. Email: info@OnlineVideoPower.com. Phone: 248-470-8379.