Two Marketing Mistakes that Kill New Businesses

by Michael Sexton

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What are the most disastrous marketing mistakes that new entrepreneurs make?

The two marketing problems that most new entrepreneurs need to overcome are cockiness and laziness. Let’s take a closer look.

Cockiness - You can hear this attitude in the words of one student who told Professor Don Sexton, “I don’t need to worry about marketing. People would be crazy not to buy my product.” That’s backwards thinking - or worse. People will never be crazy about your product or service until you make them feel that way. And that demands great marketing. You can also hear cockiness in the words of another student who said, “I spent so much time and money to develop this great product that it just cannot fail.” Great products do fail. Only good marketing makes them succeed.

SSP NOTE: This equally applies to the attitude expressed by many doctors in the past. "I'm a great doctor, people will beat my door down due to my skill and equipment". "Not So" says Donald Erceg of VetMark, in Portland. "Today, its about meeting the client's needs, 'She', who must be obeyed!". Although trite, the saying "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care" still applies in today's medical field.

Laziness - You can hear this attitude in the words of the student who said, “I’m too busy raising money to get to know my customers. Can’t I just hire a sales staff and turn them loose?” The fact is, marketing is hard work. You can’t hide from it. You need to study your competition and find ways to differentiate yourself. You need to talk with your customers and understand how your business can serve their needs. You need to identify targeted marketing channels and use them to reach your customers. And in the early stages of building a company, doing it all well is your job. You can’t just push one magic button and expect the money to start rolling in.

SSP: Here we might see a variation in the veterinary industry, where we have to truly search to find laziness of a physical nature. On the other hand one need not search far to find a certain laziness lurking in every practice, laziness to learn other than medical topics. Marketing requires study and application, and you won't be sucessful with a 'shoot from the hip' approach or entrusting Susie the buding artist in kennel services to do the next advertising campaign. You have to spend smart money and invest quality time to be sucessful.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than 550,000 small businesses will close their doors this year and give up. If you don’t want to join their ranks, learn the skills you need to succeed in The Marketing Mastery Program from Trump University.