Top 5 Marketing Mistakes for Your Local Small Businesses

Top 5 Mistakes Hurting Your Local Business.

Small business owners often understand the need to market their business to beat their competition; however, many aren't fully sure just how to go about it. Some implement marketing strategies, but just don't seem to produce any favorable results. Why? In order to truly succeed and beat your competition, you need someone who knows what they are doing and understands the current age of marketing as there are many simple mistakes you might make.

If you've been trying to handle your marketing on your own, but just can't seem to pull ahead, you may be guilty of making these top marketing mistakes for your local small business.

1. Not Listing with Local Directories
Listing your business in the phone book is only one step. Nowadays, hardly anyone eve uses the phone book, so you really need to make sure your local small business is listed on as many online directories as possible. If you're only relying on the phone book to attract customers, you're missing out on a huge profit potential.

2. Lack of Google Local Page
A Google Local Page is an invaluable tool to utilize. Not only will a Google Local Page help with your website ranking and SERP visibility, but it's critical for local businesses. Google Local pages tie into Google Maps, both of which are important for mobile marketing. I can't stress enough the importance of a Google Local Page.You NEED a Google Local page to even be on the same playing field as your competitors.

3. No Website
Yes, there are still many small businesses who don't have a website. If you don't have a website, your business basically doesn't exist. Everyone turns to the internet and Google to find businesses and services to meet their needs. If your business isn't showing up on the search results because you haven't created a website yet, you're a mile behind your competition.

4. Poor Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing involves so much more than creating a social media account and ignoring it or only throwing up self promotional statuses. You have to engage and connect with your followers with diverse posts to help build your brand loyalty and recognition. Many local small business owners feel they don't need social media marketing. That simply couldn't be further from the truth. But, social media marketing is only effective if you do it correctly. Therefore, it's often best to hire someone who knows what they are doing.

5. Avoiding Mobile Marketing
The world has gone mobile. More searches are made from mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, than those that originate from a computer. You have to keep up with this changing technology. Your website needs to be mobile optimized and you need to fine tune your marketing strategy to include mobile marketing if you have any hope of beating your competition.

Missing any one of these aspects while marketing your local small business will hurt the success of your marketing plan. I guarantee, if you correctly avoid these top 5 mistakes for marketing your business, you'll see a huge difference.

If you need help with any of these 5 top mistakes, feel free to contact me. I'd be more than happy to help you determine a course of action to help your business thrive.