There is no doubt that the economy is improving and with this renewed optimism small businesses are increasing their marketing budgets, but the best way to getting the best return on your investment is to eliminate waste, Eg stop doing things that aren’t as successful as they used to be. There are so many companies out there that continue to employ the same marketing tactics just because ‘that’s the way we have always done it’, yet they see little or no returns on their efforts.
Marketing is expensive, especially for small businesses, which is why you need to spend it wisely, here are the five most common ways to burn through most budgets.

FAIL: To have a marketing plan
If you simply implement your marketing on a whim, i.e. as soon as any creative idea pops into your head then unless you can afford it your onto a loosing streak. A fully thought through marketing plan will clearly define the costs and goals for the future, look upon a 6 month term which is enough time for you to gauge its success.
Having an advance 6 month plan will help to focus your activities for the long term rather than changing tack on a daily or weekly basis which will cause you to loose control.
Determine your goals, what are you trying to achieve from the forthcoming activity?, having an idea of what makes this a success will help you build the next plan moving forward.

FAIL: Try to sell to everybody.
We’re not suggesting that you go down the route of TV advertising or full page newspaper and magazine adverts, these will blow most budgets in seconds. But its all about targeting your audience.
Its going to be much more cost effective if you can be very specific as to who you are trying to reach rather than a broad brush approach. A targeted audience is smaller and are more likely to buy from you than blanket promotion to the masses which will no doubt cost you a fortune.

FAIL: Overlook new technology.
The way in which we all reach customers has changed dramatically in the last few years, you cannot afford to dismiss new technology in particular social media and blogging as a fad. Its incredibly cheap to use, its automated and it’s the future. Sign up to forums and news feeds that discuss ways you can embrace new technology to help you implement your marketing more effectively. You’ll be amazed at how much free advice and information there is out there (well your reading this article aren’t you?).

FAIL: To engage with potential customers
There is nothing worse than being sold to, especially if that’s all you ever have to talk about. Its very annoying from a customers point of view, so much so that if you persist with a SELL SELL SELL tactic then you’ll drive customers away quicker than you acquired them. Don’t just ram sales down their throats, you need to be more creative with how you ‘softly’ sell to customers. Try to be more engaging, use your blog to give advice and start interactivity with the readers.

FAIL: To measure effectiveness.
If you forget to measure your activity, then how can you be sure if it’s a success or not. There are 100’s of factors to measuring any marketing, but this is best decided before you start. You need to have ‘key performance indicators’ or kpis’ in place, these can be such things as how many new orders do we have?, or have our daily enquiries increased?. By monitoring what goals you are expecting will help you keep focused, but its best to be realistic here. Don’t expect to quadruple your turnover in the first month unless of course you have a huge marketing budget then its to be expected.

Dean Williams

Dean Williams is a design and marketing blogger working for Print-Print Limited, promoting business and building brands through quality print marketing. If you’re interested in small business promotion then please get in touch hello@print-print.co.uk