February 24, 2023 · 5 min read
8 Marketing Mistakes Small Businesses Make
According to a recent survey, about half of all American small businesses lack a solid marketing plan. Not having a plan in place is one of the biggest marketing mistakes any small business can make.
Marketing doesn't have to be complicated, but it does have to be deliberate. These are the mistakes we see most often when a business owner asks us to look at their online presence.
1. Treating marketing as an afterthought
Doing a little when things are slow, then stopping when you're busy. Marketing compounds — consistency matters more than intensity.
2. Ignoring the Google Business Profile
For a local business this is the single highest-return asset you can own, and it's free to claim. Most businesses set it up once and never touch it again.
3. Running ads to nowhere
Sending paid traffic to a social profile or a homepage that doesn't match the ad. Send every click to a page built for that specific offer.
4. No way to measure anything
No traffic stats, no call tracking, no idea which channel produces customers. You can't improve what you can't see.
5. Chasing every platform
Being mediocre on five channels beats being invisible on all of them. Pick the two your customers actually use.
6. Writing for yourself instead of your customer
Your homepage should describe the problem you solve in the words your customers use, not the industry language you're used to.
7. Letting reviews go unanswered
Every review is a public conversation future customers are reading. Silence looks like indifference.
8. Doing it all alone
Most owners aren't short on effort — they're short on time. Outsourcing your website and Google Business Profile to a team that does this every day usually costs less than the hours you'd spend learning it.
A simple plan that works
- A fast, mobile, professional website with real service pages.
- A Google Business Profile that's complete, active and well-reviewed.
- A review request process you actually run.
- Traffic stats you look at monthly.
- One channel of social media, posted consistently.
That's the whole plan. Our Website + Google Profile bundle covers the first two, and they're the ones that move the needle fastest for a local business.
Want help putting this into practice?
See the website + profile bundle