As entrepreneurs, we’re constantly on the lookout for ways in which we can grow our customer base, sales and businesses overall. But sometimes it can be easy to make mistakes that inhibit that potential growth and stop us from hitting our goals. If you’re going to see growth unhindered, then you need to be aware of what those mistakes are and how to avoid them.
1. Not Selling
It sounds obvious, but it’s true. Simply having a website and social media presence isn’t enough for seeking out potential clients because they won’t know to come looking for you. Most people buy products and services after seeing an advertisement for them.
Thus, you should always be communicating about your products or services; whatever it is you’re selling. Make it relevant to your target audiences and make sure you use all the channels available to you: social media, email mailshots, television advertisements, and so on. Make it so that it’s always at the front of their minds.
2. Providing too much free content
If you want to see your business grow, then you need to show potential clients how valuable your services can be. For products, this might be branded items or free produce. For services, it’s often free copy, free consultations and so on. But while it’s important to let our target audience see what our brands are made of and what we have to offer, we don’t want to overdeliver on free content straight away.
While many of us think that providing valuable free content helps in attracting new business, handing out too many freebies can stunt your business’ growth. Those potential new clients aren’t going to need to pay for your services if they’re already getting most of it for free. So, while you might feel like you’re on the right path by offering these handouts, it’s not sustainable in the long term.
3. Providing too little content
We’ve already highlighted how you could be overdelivering on your free content, but similarly you should be wary that you aren’t underserving. If you’re guilt of this, then you risk building a negative relationship with potential clients who may not know anything about you, or worse, not trust your brand.
Conduct regular reviews of your content and the message that you’re putting out to your target audiences. Review your marketing materials with the mindset of, “Am I effectively communicating my brand’s message, our services, and how we can help them?”. If the answer is no, then you’ll want to consider whether you’re providing valuable content frequently enough to build your brand’s image and reputation. Always check that your content adds value to your clients’ lives.
If you’re making any of these mistakes, it’s not the end of the world. All fledgling businesses go through the same hurdles and it’s not too late to change things. As business owners, we’re learning all the time, and these are three pitfalls that are relatively easy to fix straight away.