Marketing can seem like the answer to a business’s problems. It can feel like it is the perfect thing to do in order to help them to succeed. This is probably true as well, however, it has to be done correctly. It is very easy to spend too much money and not get much of a return from it.
Overpaying for Advertising
Advertising can be extremely expensive. However, these days many companies are desperate to get advertisers. This means that you should never pay full price. If you are advertising in a magazine, wait until it is nearing their deadline for printing and then negotiate a lower price. Or try to do a deal by advertising in several issues at a reduced price. Wherever you are advertising negotiate as you have nothing to lose.
Not Testing Methods
Many companies pay for marketing and then do not check to see whether it has been successful. It is important to find out whether it was worthwhile. This could be by looking at visitors to the website or examining sales figures. If this is not done then it will never be known whether it is worth doing that marketing again. It needs to be done every time a new marketing campaign is carried out so that the figures can be analysed and conclusions drawn as to whether it was worth it or not.
Not Researching First
It is very tempting to just go full steam in to marketing without finding out more about it first. Many people will just try out a selection of things without finding out what the alternatives are and how successful they are likely to be. This can be extremely costly and unsuccessful. It is far better to find out a lot about marketing before starting so that fewer mistakes are made.
Overspending and Assuming it will make Money
It can be tempting to assume that if you pay out money for marketing then you will see a return. It is rather like gambling where people assume that because they have paid out, they will get a win. This is simply not true and even if a business keeps paying out more and more money on marketing, it will not guarantee that they will get any more sales than they were before. This attitude can easily lead to overspending and possibly even having to take personal loans to cover the costs.
Dave Smith is a financial blogger with a passion for business and frugality. He believes a balanced wallet is a balanced business.
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