It’s a new year, and a new opportunity to get yourself out
there and meet your Best Client Ever, but how? Well, before you create your
marketing plan for 2018, it is important to review what worked and what didn’t about
the year that just ended. Things that worked go on the list for this coming
year, and things that didn’t get scrapped. However, learn from those mistakes! Anything
that doesn’t make it onto the list for 2018 is a learning opportunity. Once you
identify a mistake, see it as a tool to open your eyes and force you to get
creative and move forward with a new solution. Brainstorm around failures: Why
didn’t it work? Can it be adjusted to be more effective? Was the timing off? Was
the content wrong? Finally, if you
noticed mistakes made by others, make sure you don’t fall short in the same
way. Remember: mistakes are not the end of the world, just opportunities to
improve.
Here are my top marketing mistakes, aka What Not to Do in
2018:
·
Unclear business concept
Akin to shops that offer knife
sharpening, video rental and notary public, if you don’t have a clear and
understandable business concept, there is no marketing in the world that can
help you. Practice by lighting a match and saying what you do. Once your
fingers are burned, you should have stopped! I use conceptual exercises to help
my clients not get burned.
·
Send too many emails
Too many emails will irritate
potential clients and alienate your loyal followers. Make sure you have a
reason to blast, and create a schedule that keeps you front of mind but isn’t
invasive. I often suggest something between once a week and once a quarter,
depending on your business. MailChimp is my favorite service; legally you must
use an email marketing service if you are sending bulk emails.
·
Have no web presence
You don’t need your own website to
have web presence, so there really is no excuse. A Google My Business listing,
a Yelp listing, a FaceBook business page, even an about.me page gives your
followers a place to research you and lends credibility to your claim to be a
business. Certain industries, such a real estate, offer their agents pages
within the corporate website, so make use of that if it is offered.
·
DIY your website
Unless you have web skills, or are
using the most basic 1 page template, I cannot recommend designing your own
website. I had my own DIY website for many years, which looked terrible despite
my many re-workings of it, and I finally grew so ashamed of it that I turned to
a professional. (Lisa Erickson surprised me with a clean and simple design that
caught the attention of a TV producer!) Don’t expect that a designer can “fix”
your DIY either – like me, you may have created the equivalent of a permanently
tangled ball of yarn. Take a deep breath and start fresh. The results will be
worth it, and you don’t need to pay $20,000.
·
Use dated graphic design
If you were in business in the 90s
and your graphics haven’t changed, we need to talk. I am not saying scrap
everything, but subtle changes like different paper or ink colors can freshen
your look without diluting your brand.
·
List your fax # on business cards
No fax numbers! And while we’re at
it, brutally scrutinize all data included on your print collateral. You can
delete almost everything but your name, title, company, email, web and phone. Social
handles are useful, provided they are the same across platforms so you don’t
need to list them out. Remember, your audience is sophisticated and so should
your materials be.
·
Incoherent social content
I teach entire classes on social
media, so this could be a post, or a book, in itself, but one principal to
remember across any channel while doing any kind of post is to think about your
Mission Statement and make sure that each piece of content is in alignment with
what you say you do. If you are a modernist architect, for example, don’t post
photos of a French country chateau, unless you are making a point. It’s all
about strategy, people.
Now set aside a day (I know, impossible) or a few hours and
really examine where you were last year and where you are going in 2018. Make a
formal plan, even if it is a short evernote, and stick to it! I expect to hear,
next January, that this was your best year ever.
