Every now and then I try to summarize a few of the marketing tips that I have given you through this column or I talk about trends in marketing or interesting marketing ideas I have seen in use. This time I am going to do that by sharing with you some of the mistakes that I have noticed during the past several months while working with many businesses, including some of the readers of this column. Let's take a look at common marketing mistakes.

You Know you Have to Market But Don't

Many printing company owners and managers can talk to you about the ins and outs of printing, paper, inks, technology, and operations. This is interesting to talk about, but it's not always what will grow the business. Company owners know they have to market, but they don't. They sometimes get intimidated or don't know where to start. They start, get distracted, then stop marketing. A lot of this is improved by having the right marketing mindset, a marketing plan, help from a marketing coach, or a marketing habit. Do three to five things related to marketing before putting out your fire of the day.

Jumping into Advertising

Mention marketing to many company owners and the first thing that comes to mind is advertising. Advertising is the glamorous part of marketing. It is also the part of marketing that generally costs the most. Spending a lot of money without a focus, the right message, or the right target can become your biggest waste of that money. There is a time and place for advertising, but wait until you can afford to do it on a consistent, repetitive, over and over, focused basis. Make sure once you advertise you communicate the right message.

Call to Action Within Your Marketing Message

Prospects like to be told what to do. If you, as a marketer, don't tell them, you leave it to chance that they assume what you want them to do. Do you want prospects to call you, send in for information, visit a website, or stop by your place of business? Tell them. Call today! Stop by for a free sample! Click Here! These are all calls to action. Every brochure, website, advertisement, or other piece of marketing should have a call to action. Tell prospects what to do. This one idea can turn your whole marketing program around if it is not working.

Waiting for Referrals to Just Show Up

Referrals can be a powerful marketing tool. They can be the basis of an entire marketing plan or program. Waiting for them to just show up is a mistake. The number one step in a good referral program is to ask for them. I know this sounds like common sense, but it's true. Clients and customers like to help out. They like to share their benefits with friends and associates. Asking for referrals is a great first step. Tell clients how to refer business to you and what a good referral is. Talk about these things often with them and reciprocate where possible. These are quick tips related to a referral program and they work. There are many more that can enhance a program, but this is a good start and will overcome the common mistake of just waiting for them to appear.

Lack of a Marketing Target

"Everyone" is not a target. Anyone that will give you money for your products and services is not a target market. Trying to market to the masses is expensive and usually has a low return. The more you target, the higher the probability of success your marketing will have. A tighter target market is often referred to as a niche. Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series of books says, "Get rich in your niche." Finding narrower targets to market to will increase your marketing efficiency, reduce your marketing costs, and increase your return on marketing dollars.

Marketing with a Bang then Stopping

You will probably do something related to marketing as a result of reading these columns. I hope you do; that is the purpose of sharing this information. One of the mistakes I often see businesses make is to not continue the marketing that they start. It takes six to eight marketing touches to get a prospect into purchase readiness mode. Most companies stop at three to four touches if they are not satisfied with the response or return. This is the wrong thing to do and shows you the gap of opportunity for those who continue to market. Marketing is a process that should be continued in good times and bad. The consistency and repetition is what pays off. Don't stop marketing.

Talking About You

I've got bad news for some of you. Your prospects don't care about you. I know that comes as a shock to many readers. Who do they care about? They care about themselves. The question they always ask when looking at your marketing or anyone else's marketing is, "What's in it for me?" Because of this you must communicate benefit oriented information, not feature oriented information and not information that is all about you. Your prospects don't care how many colors your press will print. They don't care how fast the press is or how many pieces of equipment you have. They care about the benefits that result from all of this: reliability, meeting of target dates, convenience, etc. These are the true benefits and that is how your marketing messages should be constructed and crafted. Don't make it all about you. Tell the prospect what's in it for them.