Small Business Marketing Mistakes: What We Did and What We’re Doing Now
I recently heard a business coach say that there are no small business marketing mistakes and that its all about being consistent. That if you stick to something consistently, you will see results. Well in the words of Dwight K. Schrute- false. We’ve absolutely made some marketing mistakes, and none of them had to do with not being consistent.
So take a peek into our major fails, see how we turned things around, and get some insight into whether or not the marketing we tried just might end up working wonders for you.
#1: Facebook Groups (Our Biggest Small Business Marketing Mistake By Far)
Our Approach:
Back when I had a YouTube show the obvious next step was to create a free Facebook group to go with it- because that’s what everyone was doing a couple of years ago.
So each week I put out a value-packed video and then went into the group and held weekly live streams to answer questions as well as daily challenges and prompts.
People were digging it. Engagement was great.
Around the same time, I also heard that fishing for clients in Facebook groups was where it was at. If someone needed branding or had a website question, I’d shoot them a blog post, YouTube video, or a DM about my services.
Sounds great in theory, right?
Why This Was One of Our Small Business Marketing Mistakes:
That free Facebook group that I was running wasn’t making us any money and was sucking up all of my time.
Yes, my co-hostess was making sales. Off her low-entry digital products.
Meanwhile I’m over there with services in the thousands with a bunch of people that just wanted everything for free or for super cheap.
And oh the DMs I got wanting even more free advice and one-on-one consulting. I even had one guy ask me to give him free consulting and he’d pay me back after he made money.
And if we did receive inquiries, the budgets didn’t work out, both from my group and from the other groups I was a part of.
It didn’t matter that I was consistent. It was one of our major small business marketing mistakes considering how little time we have in the day between business development and client work.
And typically people that are spending all day in Facebook groups are looking for quick fixes, cheap solutions, or aren’t running successful business and are looking to take them to the next level (and those are our people).
Also, being an introvert in an industry that needs me to be extroverted, there were just too many boundaries being crossed and energy being drained for it to be sustainable.
It was too much work for no reward.
What We Now Do Instead:
In the last year we took a huge step back from Facebook.
Premium brand strategists and identity designers don’t offer free Facebook groups. It was just a bad idea for our industry.
We now use the hours we were spending each week on maintaining the group and engaging with other groups with more meaningful marketing efforts.
We focus on building relationships because if you run a business like ours where major business decisions and investments are being made it’s all about long-term relationship building. There’s a variety of ways we do this, but it mostly starts with conferences and meeting people in person.
The majority of our clients (outside of referrals) are now people we met months (even years) ago at events, conferences, and even while on vacation.
Typically those people end up following us on Instagram, and then sign up for our email list and read our blog posts.
They get to know us in a much deeper way because it’s over time and they have trust.
So if your business relies on a great deal of trust and decision making along with larger investments and scope of work, we highly recommend the long game of meeting people and having them follow along on your journey through social and on your site.
Why Facebook Groups Might Work For You:
Like I said, our co-hostess was killing it with digital sales.
Her products ranged from around $50-300, and is a much easier ask in a free group where people are looking for beginner content.
If you work with other businesses, Facebook groups may also work for you if you are looking to work with starters on limited budgets. For us, the types of businesses we serve aren’t looking for a designer in a Facebook group, but starter businesses often are and if you have a great portfolio, testimonials, or an archive of content to help them get small wins, this could be your sweet spot.
I’ve also seen course creators do very well with Facebook groups, typically when the content in the group is a tease to the paid course.
But please, always remember- if you’re spending all your time in a Facebook group, providing tons of value, and making no money (even if people love your content and you enjoy talking with people and helping them for free) you’re continually telling people that they shouldn’t buy your products and services because they can get all the answers from you for free in the group. Establish boundaries and if you continue to not profit from the time involved, it’s time for something new.
Not sure if the time investment is worth it? Track your time both planning and engaging with your group. You might be shocked at the results. I know I was.
If you’re spending all your time on anything and not seeing results, consider it one of the small business marketing mistakes that we’re all bound to make and move on.
#2: Extended Payment Plans
Our Approach:
We were in a course on how to run a profitable branding business, and the topic of payment plans was brought up.
We’re talking extended to like a year even though the work takes 2-3 months.
The women that ran the course used this model and it was working really well for them. They had signed hundreds of clients using this method.
So we gave it a (short) try.
Why This Was One of Our Small Business Marketing Mistakes:
Yes, paying over an extended period seems like it would be incredibly appealing to small business owners.
But it wasn’t what it seemed.
We tried this approach with a few inquiries, breaking down our fee over a ten-month period of time.
It was still too much for people to pay each month.
And the clients that did sign were… let’s just say they weren’t as invested in the project as the rest of our clients because they weren’t feeling the pressure of the investment made.
Email correspondence is slower, revision feedback took longer. And now we’re left wondering if those clients will pay the rest of their payments after the final delivery (and there have been payment issues).
We don’t have hundreds of clients to fall back on for our monthly income. We can’t afford to not have clients pay us.
It’s not personal, it’s business.
What We Now Do Instead:
We realized pretty quickly that our dream clients don’t need payment plans for the same reason they aren’t hanging out in free Facebook groups looking for free consulting.
Our dream clients are actively looking for brand strategists and designers and need little convincing and have healthy budgets.
They are legitimate business owners that understand that to brand their business, they need to invest and they were done trying to find DIY fixes and bottom of the barrel budgets long ago.
So just like with the Facebook group solution, we now market ourselves to business owners that are ready and looking for a partner in business and not a quick solution.
It all goes back to relationship building- meeting people, following along on social (where we primarily share our portfolio and blog content only) and getting onto our newsletter.
If you’re looking for larger clients, they’re not going to need layaway.
Why Extended Payment Plans Might Work For You:
There is a place for extended payment plans.
Perhaps you want to setup a way for your clients to get credit from an online source and that third-party will pay you, and then your client will pay the third-party over time. Like a credit card.
That way you still get paid and your clients still have payment options.
But you might also be bringing in enough clients each month that missed payments from one or two (or three or four) clients might not be that big of a risk financially.
We aren’t a branding factory, and we don’t take on that many clients at a time because of the scope of work we provide, so this isn’t possible for us, but it might be right for you.
#3: Being a Slave to Instagram
Our Approach:
Like most business owners at some point, last year we developed a love/hate relationship with the app.
On one hand, it’s our number one social platform and the easiest way for people we meet in real life to connect with us.
On the other hand, the algorithm makes it impossible for people to see your work.
So we played the game.
We posted every day.
We added filler content.
We added content that wasn’t hyper-focused on what we do, which is brand strategy and identity design.
We played the “What’s your favorite book” and “What’s your favorite song” game like so many influencers told us.
We got burned out and still found that the majority of our business at that point came from referrals. From people who weren’t even following us yet on Instagram.
Why This Was One of Our Small Business Marketing Mistakes:
When we were at the peak of our Instagram burnout, we were also not getting out and meeting people.
We were relying solely on Instagram and that infamous Facebook group and associated YouTube channel for visibility.
So what was getting us business?
Referrals- meaning someone knew us enough from the outside world of Instagram and recommended us.
We needed less scrolling and more relationship building.
What We Now Do Instead:
We post when we have something to post.
It’s not ideal.
But it’s more meaningful.
Given that we take on very few clients and work with them for months at a time before we have anything to share, we share what we have when it’s ready.
We’ve found our stride with blogging and adding content to our own website. When we get the time, we’ll post on Instagram, but we’ve found that the less we rely on social media, the more clients we book because we’re working on relationship building, which is harder and harder to do on social these days.
We know that nobody is going to land on our feed, fall in love with one of our graphics, and want to hire us immediately. We keep it fresh and relevant, but our focus is elsewhere.
Note for graphic designers: We’re currently working on leveling up our Behance presence, which is a place where people go looking for designers to hire. We recommend putting more effort into Behance than Instagram, hands down.
Why Daily Instagram Posting Might Work For You:
Products do really well on Instagram, both physical and digital.
Coaches are able to share wisdom to their community.
Locations like hotels and restaurants can easily share photographs and lifestyle shots.
For photographers constantly working on new work, this is a no brainer.
We think there’s a place for Instagram in everyone’s business, but it should never get to the point where that’s the only place your posting and your content becomes tired and uninspired.
Don’t post because you think you have to.
And don’t post if the content on your website is being neglected (like us not having a portfolio on our site for a year).
If you’re feeling like an Instagram slave and not seeing the results, take a break. Get some new ideas. Post when you have something new to say or have a new project to share.
Small Business Marketing Mistakes Conclusion
So as you can see there are definitely marketing mistakes. There’s no magic marketing channel that will always work if you just try hard enough. It’s about meeting your ideal customers where they are, providing value, and ditching things that just aren’t working.
Anything not working for you or did you give up a marketing effort because it just wasn’t cutting it? Drop us a comment and let us know how you turned things around.
