Common Marketing Myths That Can Sabotage Your Success

As with any industry, there is always an evolving set of myths. If you repeat them often enough, many begin to believe that they are true. And this is certainly the case in marketing. Believing these marketing myths can be the reason why your marketing isn’t working.

Small businesses have many opportunities to attract their ideal client. It’s time to put these marketing myths aside and execute a practical marketing plan that will work for your business.

Myth 1: My target market is older, therefore social media won’t work

Maybe baby boomers once were not Internet savvy, but Baby boomers feel that social media has had a positive effect on their lives. According to a Pew Research Center 2021 study, those aged 50-64 actually use Facebook more than the age groups just above or below them. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect and build relationships with those who just may be waiting to find your business through social media.

Myth 2: A mobile website isn’t necessary for small businesses

If your website doesn’t support a mobile visitor, you will lose many opportunities to be seen by your ideal client. With Google basing the search results on its mobile index, a website built using mobile first design and mobile marketing is very important to small businesses, especially for businesses with a physical location.

Responsive websites enable small businesses to deploy one website that responds to all devices, whether your visitor is on a browser, smartphone or tablet. This lowers your cost because you don’t need two websites and creates a better user experience for all users.

Further reading: Importance of Mobile First Design

Myth 3: Email marketing is no longer effective

Building your own in-house email list and providing a focused and well executed email marketing campaign is still very effective, especially when integrated into your content marketing activities.

Learn how to create and deliver quality subject lines, effective calls to action and niche specific content right to your prospects’ inbox. Email marketing can enhance your relationship with your subscribers and drive your revenue.

Further reading: Email Marketing: Getting Permission is Just the Beginning

Myth 4: I have a logo therefore I have a brand

Logos are one component of a company brand identity, but your brand image is far more complex. 

Brand is the perception the world has of you. Your brand:

• Communicates your personality
• Influences the opinion of your potential customers as to whether they want to do business with you
• Builds trust

A brand is everything you are, the value you deliver and the total client experience.

Every image you project needs to consistently reflect the personality of your business. Make sure your brand is consistently used across all of your social media sites and marketing activities.

Further reading: Benefits of a Strong Brand Identity

Further reading: Branding Tips for Small Business

Myth 5: My nephew can build my website

This is where many small businesses make a major mistake. Your website is the foundation for all of your inbound marketing activities. It needs to be created as a marketing tool that supports your marketing efforts.

You certainly can create a professional WordPress website yourself. Using the WordPress block editor, GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks, you can get very creative. But understanding best practices around content organization and user experience is critical to making sure your visitors find what they are looking for.

By all means, if you can technically create your own website, do so. But invest in a marketing person to critique the site layout, content organization, on-page optimization, your call to action and landing pages.

Further reading: Top Website Design Mistakes Small Businesses Make

Myth 6: Great marketing works instantly

Although marketing creates visibility and some tactics can produce instant results, marketing is about sustained contact with your target audience to ensure they know who you are when they are about to buy.

Content marketing is not instantaneous. It takes time to create enough quality content your target needs to begin producing results. Marketing is an investment and like all good investments, they take time to achieve the greatest gains.

Further reading: Marketing is an Investment in Your Business, Not an Expense

Myth 7: Messages need to be changed often, otherwise your marketing gets old

Consistency and repetition is marketing’s best friend. Just when you are bored to tears with your marketing message or marketing campaign, your target audience may finally be hearing your messages. Changing your message, brand or marketing campaign for the sake of change can waste a lot of time and energy for nothing.

Further reading: Crafting an Effective Marketing Message for Maximum Impact

Myth 8: Marketing is Advertising

Marketing is about educating your target market about your products and services and why they should buy from you. The medium you use to communicate these messages to your target market could include advertising, but for most small businesses, the cost of traditional advertising outweighs the value. Online advertising is more cost effective, but whether you use advertising in your marketing mix to reach your ideal client will be specific to your business.

Myth 9: Lower prices encourage more people to buy

If that were always true, no one would buy a BMW verses a Kia. Buyers have their own idea of what is valuable to them. And many believe that you get what you pay for.

That is why it is so important to target your product or service correctly. This allows you to provide the maximum value at the right price.

Further reading: Service Bundling Strategy – 7 Benefits for Your Small Business

Myth 10: Inbound and social media marketing is free

Although it is true that you can create your web presence for little to no money, inbound and social media marketing require resources to be successful.

You need to provide people for the creation of quality, relevant content that will attract your ideal client. You also need time to be present on the social networking sites to build relationships. If you don’t have these, you may need some money to get the resources you need to do the job.

Blogging, monitoring your reputation, curating and sharing content, creating and optimizing your profiles, responding to posts and comments all take time. And although inbound marketing is time consuming, it is worth every minute you put into it.

What marketing myths do you believe?

Marketing is about creating visibility for your business by educating your prospects and customers about you, your products and services, and how you can help them solve a problem. Everything you do to accomplish this for your company is a marketing activity. Marketing is truly an investment in time, creativity, resources and energy. It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing the right marketing that will work for your business.