Marketing myths are everywhere! And in order to properly market your business, you first need to understand marketing. Do you know what’s myth and what‘s truth when it comes to marketing? Let's find out.
See if you can spot the marketing myths. Take the quiz now then come back and continue reading below for even further detailed explanations.
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1. Myth or Truth: Brand development should come first, even before you begin marketing your business.
Truth. Your brand is everything that you will market. You need to develop your brand first so that you know your business and your value inside and out and can articulate that benefit to your ideal client. Without a clear message it will be difficult to attract your ideal client. You can see how I work with my clients and how brand always comes first. Listen to this podcast of why brand comes first.
2. Myth or Truth: Marketing is a short-term solution and is only used when needed.
Myth! Marketing will last the life of your business. One of the main goals of marketing is to stay top of mind. But if you only market when it's convenient, then you will lose that traction you’ve gained with potential clients. You will lose that connection you’ve started to build, and you will lose familiarity. And people chose to work with those they are familiar with and trust. Being a consistent familiar presence in their lives is the best way to earn their trust and become their first choice when they are ready to buy. If you only market sporadically, then you will be starting all of this from square one every single time you decide to jump start your marketing again, and you may never get to the point of earning their trust.
3. Myth or Truth: A good marketing strategy starts with research.
Truth. A good marketing strategy has a solid foundation of research. You need to know your ideal clients habits, their needs and wants. We want to know what they are searching for online so you can show up there too. We want to know the demographics of your ideal client, but we also want to know the psychographics; what are their habits, their needs, their desires? We also want to know what your competitors are doing, and what they aren’t doing. What can you do better? What can you offer that they can’t? Knowing all of this helps you position yourself as the obviously solution for your ideal client.
4. Myth or Truth: Marketing and sales are the same thing.
Myth! Marketing creates awareness of your business and gets people in the door. Sales relies on whether you can close the deal once they are there. Marketing is meant to keep you in the public eye and top of mind with your ideal client. Marketing builds familiarity of your business, you, and your offer. It encourages people to take action, to download that free resource or to book that free consultation. However, once they are on that call, it is up to you to convince them to buy from you. That is where sales comes into play. Your marketing professional cannot be on that final sales call. You can outsource your marketing to get people in the door, but once they are there, only you can close that sale. Learn more about marketing and sales in this podcast episode.
5. Myth or Truth: If your business survives on referrals, then you don't really need marketing.
Myth! Even word-of-mouth referrals are marketing BUT it's marketing you have no control over. Referrals may not always bring you ideal clients consistently and you are at the mercy of others spreading the word for you. If referrals slow down, you have nothing to fall back on because you haven't extended awareness outside that circle. Marketing allows you to build awareness with a specific audience without relying on past clients. It gives you complete control, and, most of all, it give you data! Data allows us to analyze and continually improve your marketing strategy to consistently bring in your ideal client.
6. Myth or Truth: Quality service will sell itself.
Myth! Even the best brands in the world still market their business. Why? Because if you are out of sight you are out of mind. People are wrapped up in their own lives, their own busy schedules, it's our job to stay in front of them without requiring them to do extra work or search too hard to find you. If it's hard to find you, how will they buy from you? The last thing a business wants to hear is, “Are they still in business?” You want it to be clear that you are open and ready for business.
7. Myth or Truth: Marketing is used to get new clients but it is also used to retain old ones.
Truth! Marketing doesn't stop after you book that client. Continuing marketing efforts, like email marketing, will keep you top of mind so they come back again. Just because a client was a client once, doesn’t mean they will be again. It’s your job to let them know you are there to serve them. Keep in mind that in an oversaturated world where we can Google everything within seconds, someone else can swoop in and win their business. If a client came to you for a service 6 months ago, and you stayed in front of them, made them feel appreciated, and maybe offered a promotion or two, then you are more likely to be their first choice when they need your services again.
8. Myth or Truth: Marketing is easy, so even those with little to no experience can do it.
Myth! People dedicate their entire careers and studies to learning the ins and outs of marketing. I‘ve been in marketing for over 12 years and even I am forever learning and improving. It involves a lot of research, knowledge of psychology and human behavior, as well as understanding all the research, technical tools and analytics to ensure your efforts are working to serve you. A website alone isn’t enough, social media, alone isn’t enough, it all needs to work together with an effective strategy in place.
9. Myth or Truth: Social media needs a strategy just like any other channel for marketing.
Truth! Social media requires marketing knowledge, research, and a strategy and should not be handled solely by and intern. No hate to interns, however, if they don't have the proper marketing experience, this could be a wasted effort, or worse, damage your reputation.
10. Myth or Truth: Great marketing delivers fast results.
Myth! Even the best marketing in the world requires time to have an influence. And no matter the business you are in, you are in the h
uman business. There are many reasons humans choose to buy or not buy. One being, humans need time to get familiar with you and your offer and feel they can trust you and your business. That naturally takes time. This is why it is so important to incorporate marketing into your business strategy from day one and never stop.