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What Marketing Mistakes should Every Small Business Avoid?

You feel you've done marketing activities with the optimal, but the results have not been seen. Maybe you have one of the following seven mistakes in marketing. This is a list of the major mistakes that are often experienced by marketers.

1. Expects the customer coming self
One thought that often owned by marketers is to provide quality products and services then the customers will come by itself. This will not happen, unless your brand is already well known and have very loyal customers. Although your store is located in a strategic location, attractive shop display, have quality products and services that spectacular, but customers will not come as long as you do not do marketing well.

Create a unique value proposition to your target market. New products are always flooded the market, presenting a lot of choices to consumers. If you do not do marketing, consumer awareness of your products will increasingly fade with time, lost by awareness of competitors' products.

2. Have No Specific Target Markets
The second mistake that you believe that your products and services suitable for everyone. So, in your marketing activities are not targeted to a specific target market. Indeed, the company is not targeting a specific target market for fear of losing potential market segments. However, the result would not even catch the market value of products / services given to them.

Although you try to capture more market segments, focus on your primary target market. Prepare a unique value proposition for each segment of the potential market, so that they also see that you also provide value products.

3. Just imitates competitors' marketing strategy
The third mistake that marketers often get caught up to follow the marketing strategies of competitors. Competitors launched marketing strategy, which was then a huge success, so the marketers are tempted to do the same. In fact, your competitors may be larger, so if you are in direct competition with it, then your chances to win is small.

Do not follow a successful marketing strategy of the competitors away. There is a strategy that suits you, but there may be many differences. Aggregated and choose a strategy that suits your own conditions and needs. For example, invites competitors to a price war, let it go. You should focus more on value, not just price. Give the best value for consumers, by providing their needs and unfulfilled desires. Perform differentiation, and give reasons for customers to choose your product than competitors.

4. Less of Research and Testing
The fourth mistake is the inadequate research and testing before running the marketing activities. Marketing has been implemented, but in fact the results are not in accordance with expectations. So, before running the marketing activities previous research and testing should be done. Find out what the customer wants and needs. Perform due diligence before you make decisions related to marketing, whether it's price, supply, packaging, promotion, and others. Get feedback from your previous customers.

5. Regard Marketing as Expenses
Companies often look at marketing as an expense rather than investment. Marketing is not an essential part of business strategy. This is a fatal mistake. As a result, the company did not allocate enough resources to the field of marketing. Consequently receiving the money that goes into the company is also reduced.

Meanwhile, the marketing is different, because it would attract money into the company, not just spend the budget. Therefore, companies should allocate sufficient resources to marketing, so that marketing activities can be performed by optimal and contribute some revenue to the company.

6. Do not Know Customer Acquisition Cost
Another mistake is the case that management does not know exactly how much it costs to acquire a customer. Thus, there is no statistic that measures the customer lifetime value. In fact, this information is important for marketing decisions. By knowing the cost of customer acquisition and customer lifetime value, then you'll know how much you should invest in marketing.

Often companies invest more than the customer lifetime value, thus resulting in deteriorating financial condition. So, before doing the marketing activities, know first customer lifetime value of your potential customers.

7. Only focus on the acquisition of customers, not keep it
You must understand that your business can work well at this time are partly derived from existing customers, and the fraction of new customers. mistake that often happens is that marketers are focused solely on acquiring new customers, and forget about the existing customers. Relationship that has existed by existing customers are not supervised properly, but instead pursue new customers. Existing customers missing, while new customer acquisition costs are higher, as a result of unfavorable financially.

How to Increase Sales Turnover

In business, amount of sales turnover is very important. Because turnover is directly proportional to the profit gained. The bigger the turnover of sales means greater profits.
What is sales turnover? Sales turnover definition : calculation of the total of all sales of products / goods / services that you are selling in a particular period - before it's reduced cost of merchandise sold. Or, entire amount of goods of a company that has successfully sold to consumers which expressed in terms of money, so how much money that can be achieved within a certain time, before it's reduced by cost of goods sales.

The question is, how to increase sales turnover?
Usually businesses looking for great things that can trigger an increase in turnover in an instant. This strategy is not wrong, but often the increase in turnover came from the little things that may often be ignored, and that it could increase the sales turnover of long-term sustainable. Tips on increasing sales turnover:

1. Increase Prospects (Leads)
The way to multiply the prospect can be done with advertising, open new branches, spread brochure, following the exhibition, etc.

2. Expand Number of Conversions
Conversion is the number of prospects who ultimately buy your product. For example, from 1000 prospects coming into your store there are 250 people who buy. This means that your conversion is 25%. How to increase conversions? For example: provide the warranty, provide after-sales guarantee, free delivery, etc..

3. Evaluation of the selling price
What about the selling price of your product? Is it time to go up, fixed, or did it fall? You can judge from the development of your sales. Know the current ideal price by trying some of the options prices. That way, you will know the ideal price for your product. So you will be much easier to make follow-up strategy to increase your sales turnover.

4. Recognize your business prime time.
Business prime time means time when there is a lot of sales. In that time you must be optimize your sales performance eg by intensifying ads and marketing program. All the resources you have, must be focus fully on the prime time. Usually a spike in sales happen at Christmas, Valentine's, or new year, analyze your business prime time and prepare your products well in advance.

5. Customer database
If you have a customer database, look back and analyze what causes them to become your customers. You should also categorize consumers into a list of consumers. So you can make the appropriate marketing approach for each of these consumer lists.

6. Execute marketing strategy to increase turnover
To increase sales turnover, do not hesitate to execute the marketing strategy as with an irresistible offer. The form can be like giving a larger size products, discounts, or extend the use of the product. It could also give an interesting gift. Essentially, do not hesitate to run a marketing idea you want to do.

the Benefits of Business Card

For an entrepreneur, business card has a very important function. Its form is just a small piece of paper, but the benefit is very large. Business cards contain your information so that clients more easily contact you when they need your products / services.

Functions of Business Card
Here are few functions of a business card

1. As the owner's card identity through the name, position, title, email address, web site, and phone number to call.
2. As a representative of company image and brand, and the existence of the company through a logo, company name, business address, and type of business.
3. As a data base of prospects that could be used at any time for business purposes.
4. As a means of supporting communication when the meeting took place.
5. As a medium to record additional information about date of birth, time and place while introduction, husband or wife's name, as well as other information.

The information in the Business Card
When creating business cards, there is some information that should be included are as follows : company logo, company name, personal name, Position in company, contact person, phone number, address, web and e-mail address (optional).

Ethics of Receiving and Giving Card
Using the business cards were not kidding. Receive and give business cards have rules.

Here are a few rules or ethics when you receive a business card from a relation or a new colleague.

1. Business cards are accepted with a two hand or right hand.
2. Pay attention and read the cards for a moment. Then if necessary, provide a brief comment about the information contained on the card. For example, its business field or how to spoken the name of the person.
3. If the card is received at meetings, lay it on the table to help you remember the name of the owner of the business card as well as to call him/her in the meeting - occasionally.
4. Note the local custom. Remember, do not write information on a business card if it is considered inappropriate.
5. Keep business card in your wallet or a special place of cards.

If you intend to give a business card, following its ethical.
1. Make sure the card is clean with no streaks or faded.
2. give respectfully with your right hand
3. Aim name or inscription on the card facing toward the conversational partner.
4. List the important information that needs to be communicated. For example, "This is my new office address, sir."

Business cards can also be a business opportunity for you.
This business is relatively easy and inexpensive so that it can be run by small businesses. Business card is fairly easy because it has available various software of business card templates that can simplify your work. In addition to easy to operate, business cards do not require too much capital. Some of the equipment should be prepared to open this business is very simple, such as follows.

business card template Software,
Paper, ink, and box or boxes business card,
a computer, and printer.