4 Deadly Marketing Mistakes Solo Services Professionals Make

by Francis | Marketing Tips

Are these marketing mistakes perhaps the reason why you are frustrated with your business results?

For many, a self-owned business is a life-long dream: an opportunity to do what you are passionate about and to get handsomely rewarded for it. Yet, at some point in time reality can set in when you  realise that just being good and passionate about what you do is not nearly enough to have a profitable business.

In fact, to be handsomely rewarded for what you do, you need clients who buy your services and products and to get clients you have to do a lot of marketing.

This is normally where the spanner meets the wheel and topples the apple cart, since many solo-preneurs are excellent in the services they provide, but they haven’t mastered the marketing aspects of their business yet and then they make one or more of the following deadly marketing mistakes.

MARKETING MISTAKE #1: Marketing your services to the world.

The deadliest mistake for your business is to try and market your services to the world.  In other words, this happens when you don’t have clarity on who your ideal client audience really is and you try to fit anyone and everyone with a pulse into you marketing efforts.

Marketing to the world often originates from thinking that you’ll limit your income possibilities if you narrow your target market. Another reason why people might not want to choose a target audience is when they deliver services that are quite universal and many people (across a wide spectrum) can benefit from it.

For example: Let’s say you are a health coach and anybody from a middle-school student to the CEO of a fortune 500 company and beyond can find your health coaching services beneficial – so you try to market to the whole spectrum of clients and are not selective with whom you work with.

In reality however, the quickest way to go broke and fail in business is to think that everybody is a potential client – even if they can or should use your services.

The problem however is that there is no way that you can successfully market your business to everybody on the planet because you simply just don’t have the financial budget to do it. People also have different buying reasons and if your marketing message is so diluted because you want to fit everyone on the planet into it, they simply won’t understand how you can help them specifically – and they won’t buy.

So, the first step to successful marketing is to correct this mistake. Narrow your focus and choose a smaller target audience – people you can relate to easily and who you can help best with what you offer.

MARKETING MISTAKE #2: Spending too much time, money and effort to market your services to people who will never buy from you.

This mistake closely follows in the footsteps of #1 and often happens when you are looking for your target audience in all the wrong places. This means that you spend time with people who are not interested in buying your services or products or you spend your time and money on strategies where you won’t find your ideal client in large numbers.

For example, let’s say you work with executives of Fortune 500 companies, then spending all your time and efforts on marketing to your local Chamber of Commerce might not be the best strategy at all and spending a lot of time on social media marketing might not put your business in front of your target audience either. A better strategy might be a direct mailing campaign or to be a guest speaker at a conference these executives attend.

The bottom line – for marketing to be effective, it need to reach your target audience – preferably where they are present in large numbers.

Remember the saying “birds of a feather flock together”? So, choose a target audience; get to know them really well and take note where they hang out. Then put your marketing time and money into those places where it will have the biggest positive impact.

MARKETING MISTAKE #3: NOT having a clear marketing message.

OK, you’ve narrowed down your target audience and you are present where they hang out, but you still do not get the results you want. This is where mistake #3 comes into play in that you might not have a clear enough marketing message.

In today’s information rich world, people have a lot of choices how to spend their money and thus need a compelling reason to spend it with you. If they can’t see how your services can solve their most difficult problems, saves them time or money or provide ways for them to achieve their most important goals, they just don’t buy.

For example if you provide professional proofreading and editing services to university graduates, telling them about your experience, where you’ve studied and what qualification you have, might not be the best marketing message to get them as clients. But telling them how your services will help them get better grades with a professionally edited thesis can be much more effective as a marketing message because it addresses an important goal they want to achieve.

To develop a clear marketing message that stands out above all the clutter and competition, it is necessary to know and understand what your ideal target audience really struggle with and / or what they want to achieve. That knowledge will help you prepare a message that addresses their needs in such a way that they see you as someone who can solve their problems or help them get what they want.

MARKETING MISTAKE #4: Doing occasional marketing.

It is sad to say, but people sometimes only do marketing when the appointment book looks a bit empty. When it is going well, they don’t make time for marketing and before they know it, they run out of clients and have to start all over again.

Another side of occasional marketing is when people think that clients will come automatically if they’ve set up a website, hand out one or two business cards, distributed a flyer or two or attend a networking event once in a while. People often wait for clients to come knocking on their doors and when work is not pouring in, they get discouraged and even start to doubt their own abilities.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter how good you are in what you do or how truly unique your services and products are. You still need to tell people about it – consistently and continuously.

Occasional marketing does NOTHING for your business. It only creates frustration when your business is on a financial see-saw.

To reap the best marketing results, you need to do some marketing activities daily, consistently and get in front of your target audience on a continuous basis. You never know how long it will take for someone to work with you. One client might make a decision after the first meeting, but the majority of people won’t. So it is your responsibility to continuously market your business to remind them about your existence so that they won’t forget about you.

Your action step today is to recognize if you make one or more of these marketing mistakes and then take the necessary action to correct them. It can make a world of difference to your business results.

Closing The Gaps With Cost-Effective Off-line Marketing Strategies

by Francis | Marketing Tips | 1 comment

#1. Use The Media.

Believe it or not, your local media are probably just waiting for you to call them with a great story idea! Newspapers, radio stations and magazines are always looking for stories to fill up their pages or broadcasting time.

Take advantage of it – it’s free!

Contact typical publications that your target market reads. Provide them with a newsworthy story or ask them to write a profile on your business. Talk about your services and especially what gaps you fill with regards to what your target market needs. Make it interesting and full of benefits to the readers to give them reasons to visit your website or to contact you.

#2.  Start Networking

Joint the Chamber of Commerce and other networking organizations for small businesses. Attend events and meetings near you where you can find your target audience. Attend conventions, shows or exhibitions, or even just an organised social event.

By networking and joining groups, you get to know more people, have the ability to share ideas and knowledge, raise the visibility of your expertise and business and create opportunities for getting new clients. As you build your network of friends and acquaintances always think about what YOU can contribute and how you can make the life better for others. In successful networking you first need to be a giver before you can be a receiver.

#3) Send “Snail-mail”

Traditional mail could be considered a little old fashioned these days because sending an email is so simple, cost effective and measurable. The old way of doing it – writing a letter by hand, stuffing it in an envelope, buying a stamp and posting the letter at the post-office – seems distinctly primitive.

But the beauty is: it catches the eye and can talk to those who didn’t even know they were looking for your business!

Use snail mail to send prospects an introduction letter about your business, a thank-you note or a birthday card. The key is to start getting creative and to use snail-mail to rise above the clutter.

#4) Put your web address everywhere

Got a car? Stick your website address on the back. Print it the t-shirt you wear to the gym or the one you use for your morning jog. Print it on some promotional items link pens, notepads, keyrings, beer mats – anything you can think off.

The internet has greatly removed the need for you to print fancy advertisements or logos. Now all you need is to help people remember what to type into Google.

#5) Speak to people face-to-face

Many years back, face-to-face marketing was THE trend for promoting business. If you wanted to be successful, you had to go out and meet people to introduce your business.

With the onset of the internet it rapidly changed and business owners began to rely on email, telemarketing, and internet promotions to attract new clients – no more going out and speaking to people.

But when you just start out, face-to-face marketing is still the most efficient way of promoting your business and generating new leads. Imagine how impressive you’ll appear if you actually visit your prospects and take the time to talk to them and discuss their needs. You will definitely stand out. A little effort and time on your part can make a difference and send a strong message that you care enough to meet and talk with your clients and prospects.

When planning your marketing activities, the ultimate goal is to have all your marketing efforts supporting each other so you can close all gaps.

Assess your current situation, take stock of your marketing resources and consider some ways where offline marketing can help your business.

Share with us below what off-line marketing techniques you already apply / intent to implement in your business.