The term “marketing” encompasses a broad sphere of ideologies– so broad that misinformation about marketing sometimes sounds like it could actually be fact. It's not uncommon for individuals, even those with experience and within the profession, to hold a few viewpoints that don’t accurately line up with marketing truths. Maintaining these mindsets can be dangerous to your sales efforts and ultimately hurt your marketing in the long run!
Below, we've outlined some of the most common misconceptions about marketing. You may be surprised to learn that some of your long-held beliefs don't quite line up. Find out if you’ve been misled and prevent it from continuing to hold your marketing efforts back!
The Most Common Misconceptions About Marketing
1. Small Businesses Needn't Waste Time (or Money) on Marketing
It's understandable why this idea is so pervasive. Small businesses don't have nearly as much time, or as big of a marketing budget, as large companies do. This does not mean that marketing is a waste of time or money. Marketing for small businesses must be rolled out wisely and requires more thought and planning to get better use of your marketing budget.
It's critical that small businesses take the time to piece together a detailed marketing plan to avoid wasting precious cash or time. Take the steps necessary to monitor your marketing campaigns and immediately address any cracks that you see in the foundation of your efforts.
As your business begins to grow (thanks to effectively planning your marketing and budget), you'll find that you have more time and money to dedicate to the marketing process. It's a long game to play, but you'll come out a winner in the end.
2. Marketing is Easy and Can Be Done By Anyone
Countless marketing novices think that marketing is an easy process. Some people think that throwing up an ad and posting updates on your social media is enough for a marketing plan. Research and planning? Unnecessary.
The concept couldn't be further from the truth.
Marketing takes an enormous amount of time and dedication if you want to see your efforts pay off. And, as much as you want to avoid it, it's going to cost you some money too. It's easy to opt for cheaper methods of marketing to grow your business, but a successful process is far from free.
Excellent content marketing takes commitment on a level that not many people are willing to make. The game-changer in this equation comes down to results. Quality is more important than quantity, thoughtful marketing garners results time and time again without fail. If you don't market, you may be saving money and time, but your audience decreases considerably and you'll often pay for your savings through lowered sales.
3. Advertising is a Marketing Plan
Advertising is essential to good marketing, but it might not even be half the battle.
Advertisements go hand-in-hand with a variety of other marketing methods. Things like SEO and targeted content are what will actually drive consumers to continue researching your products and services after they're hooked by an advertisement. Ads are essentially your hook to get someone’s attention, whether they are a new customer or you’re retargeting them.
Ads are an excellent way to begin forming a base judgment about interest in your business, but they should be far from your main focus. Ultimately, you want to get customers interested in your brand and lead magnet. Studies have shown that leads require as many as five to twelve touch points before they're willing to become customers– does one ad achieve that?
4. Marketing is Only to Acquire New Customers
Any successful marketing professional knows that the game involves far more than potential customers. You should also be working to actively market to existing customers and maintain your relationship with them as frequently as possible.
Acquiring customers is only half of the battle; logic dictates that the other half of the marketing equation is holding onto them! Customer retention is no joke– it's something that even massive corporations struggle with. One trip to the Facebook page of any big box store will treat you to an array of angry customers announcing their intent to never set foot inside of that store again.
If your focus rests solely on collecting customers, they'll leave as quickly as they came. It's crucial to generate some level of lifetime value that you can offer your customers, so you can show that you’re still useful for them after the initial purchase. Incentivize them to engage with your brand and continue spending money. If you don't, they'll go elsewhere.
5. Marketing Should Deliver Fast Results
All too often, those new to the marketing sector find themselves disappointed when their efforts don't pay off immediately. If you aren't seeing a payoff to your marketing right away, surely you must be doing something wrong, right?
Wrong.
If you're marketing online, it's true that you'll likely see results more quickly than if you rely on more old-school methods. However, even online marketing takes time to pay off. It may take many clicks before one individual decides to contact you or make a purchase– and that's okay!
The majority of the most popular and effective organic marketing tactics, like SEO implementation, are well-known for taking months before sizable results can be seen. This is even seen with some paid marketing, such as sales funnels, where it may take some time before getting a truly qualified lead. You're going up against your established competitors and big companies when you start a marketing campaign – adjust your expectations surrounding time accordingly.
6. Quality Products and Services Will Sell Themselves
Actually, they don't.
There are tens of millions of small businesses within the United States alone, and that statistic doesn't even begin to touch on the well-established, massive companies that you're likely up against too. There's far more competition out there than you'd ever expect. Even if you work within a highly-specialized niche with upwards of 30 million competitors, somebody else is guaranteed to be selling what you are.
Advertising your products or services is critical to company success. If you don't believe us, consider this: why do major corporations like Apple and Disney market so aggressively if their products could sell on their own?
If you're interested in learning more about the truths behind marketing, and ways to improve your marketing plan, get in touch with the LETSDEVELOP.TV team today! Our friendly, knowledgeable team is eager to speak with you about your marketing strategy and work to create custom solutions tailored to your company’s needs. Whether you're an old pro or you're just stepping into the marketing sector, LETSDEVELOP.TV is your one-stop shop for all of your marketing and advertising needs.
