One of the first steps entrepreneurs should take after starting their business is getting word out to the public and attracting potential customers via marketing. A customer can’t find and make a purchase from a business unless they first hear about it, and this means marketing should be top of mind for any entrepreneur looking to grow their business.
But when you’re new to entrepreneurship, you may not know the most effective ways to market to your audience, which could cause you to make a mistake that might unintentionally damage your efforts. Here, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some of the mistakes new entrepreneurs might commonly make when it comes to marketing their business, why they fall into these traps and what they should do instead.
Members pictured from left to right.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Providing Education Without Entertainment
Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of marketing their brand with purely educational content, without adding any entertainment value. Brands should instead focus on content that provides a healthy mix of both—call it “edutainment.” If you want customers to buy into your brand, you have to first grab their attention and delight them. Then you can educate them on what makes your product great. – Rob Hoffman, Contact Studios
2. Lacking Understanding About Their Target Audience
One mistake new entrepreneurs might commonly make when it comes to marketing their business is lacking understanding about their target audience. They may be targeting the wrong audience or have a poor understanding of what that target audience wants. This can lead to financial issues. Instead, they should take the time to research their audience to ensure that a market exists. – Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
3. Marketing Too Broadly
A big mistake many new entrepreneurs make is marketing to a very broad segment. You can’t be everything to everybody. It will be a hundred times more effective if you niche down to a super specific market and solve one very acute and very particular problem. It’s like setting a doctor’s appointment—You can see a generalist pretty much every day, but it may take months before you see a specialist. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
4. Running Paid Ad Campaigns
One mistake that new entrepreneurs commonly make is running paid advertising campaigns. They fall into this trap because paid ads bring quick results. However, they forget that the moment they pull the plug on the ads, the results they see will be gone. Therefore, it’s best to focus on gaining traction organically by creating relevant content. It’s cost-effective and ensures long-term results. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
5. Using The Wrong Platforms
New marketers often make the mistake of trying to reach customers on all social media platforms instead of the ones where their customers spend their time. For instance, if your primary audience is people in their late 50s, you probably wouldn’t want to market your product on TikTok. Similarly, you wouldn’t pay a premium for LinkedIn ads if your product is designed for teenagers. – John Turner, SeedProd LLC
6. Focusing Too Much On Their Products
One common mistake new entrepreneurs make when marketing their business is focusing too much on their products and not enough on the needs and interests of their target audience, as the entrepreneurs are closer to their products. This can lead to self-centered marketing messages or ones not particularly relevant to the audience, making it difficult to engage and convert potential customers. – Kelly Richardson, Infobrandz
7. Assuming The Audience Knows More Than They Do
New entrepreneurs assume their customers know as much as they do about their product or service. We fall into this trap because we’re so close to the product and overestimate how easy it is to understand. As a marketer, an entrepreneur must make their marketing and brand message easy to understand by the lowest common denominator. Don’t assume people will just “get it.” – Andy Karuza, NachoNacho
8. Ignoring Content Marketing
Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of ignoring content marketing. They often don’t know the value of creating content like blog posts, articles and other material that don’t drive immediate results. They rely on ads instead and forget the importance of storytelling and building relationships with their customers. What they should do instead is invest in content creation too. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
9. Relying On Traditional Marketing Methods
Many new entrepreneurs rely a lot on traditional marketing methods, such as print or radio advertising. This can be expensive and inefficient. Instead of those methods, they should focus on leveraging online marketing strategies such as social media, email marketing, SEO and blogging. These strategies are cost-efficient, can reach a larger audience and their performances can be tracked and tweaked. – Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster