“The greatest enemy of any of our truths may be the rest of our truths.”
William James
Certainty versus Myth
84% of American companies have below average marketing programs, and the vast majority of these come from the small and medium business sectors. Although business experts have a variety of theories about root causes and direct impacts, they generally agree on two important things:
1. Developing and using sound marketing strategies and tactics (i.e., marketing programs) provides all businesses with maximum leverage to achieve their goals, and
2. Businesses that execute marketing programs based on a written strategic plan are much more likely to succeed than those that don’t.
Why do most small businesses fail?
This is a bit like asking a medical examiner why someone died… While the short answer may be that their heart stopped beating or their brain stopped working, there are thousands of possible underlying contributors. It is very similar in this case.
However, some things are certain when a company stops “being” unexpectedly… Someone(s) made bad decisions. The actual mistakes themselves are far less important than understanding why so many very smart people can’t build and maintain successful businesses.
The failure of a company can usually be traced directly to the mindset of its founder. Ultimate success in anything has much more to do with your attitudes and beliefs than any tactical error or overwhelming event, even though this may be given as “the official cause of death.”
Given this, it stands to reason that small business owners/managers fall short of their goals because, in fact, they make serious mistakes that produce poor or devastating results… However, to at least stop the bleeding (hopefully, there are still enough time to cure the “patient”), you need to understand and address the root problem, not the Band-Aid on a malignant tumor!
The obvious question then is: why?
Because their Actions are…
Based on Decisions…
formed by Attitudes…
supported by a philosophical belief in…
MYTHS
We all make mistakes… some more than others. But it is the wise person who seeks advice. So, after many years in the strategic marketing profession, I have compiled my own list of the four “worst of the worst” marketing myths and mistakes they cause. They are:
1. Marketing is just another word for advertising.
This is perhaps the most common marketing myth and it must be debunked immediately if you have any hope of achieving your business goals.
Belief in this myth requires a view of marketing as a tactical function rather than the series of cross-functional processes, approaches, and activities that it really is. Yes, advertising (marketing communications) is an essential component of your overall marketing plan, but it’s not THE plan, and should ideally only account for 1-2% of all your marketing efforts.
If you dedicate all your attention and effort to advertising activities (for example, copy, sales channels, websites, media, etc.), you are putting the cart before the horse and missing out on critical aspects that can have a negative impact. in your business.
Advertising should never replace the marketing process as a whole. No amount of advertising will make up for shoddy workmanship; rude employees or an unpleasant customer experience. It’s like building a house of cards… it may last a while, but it will most likely collapse.
2. Perception is not reality
This is one of the most difficult concepts for entrepreneurs to accept. They waste countless hours trying to convince inflexible customers to accept their version of reality, which often prevents them from communicating their unique benefits; alleviate significant failures and/or ignore golden opportunities.
It is vitally important that anyone with responsibility for growing a business or organization understands and embraces this fundamental principle. It doesn’t matter if external perceptions are factual…because consumers behave based on attitudinal decisions based on their beliefs, which are often subconscious.
This has particularly dangerous consequences when companies are forced to locate in an undesirable location primarily because they fail to communicate their unique benefits. Therefore, your “inner reality” is aware of your distinctive qualities, but “outer perceptions” are clueless.
In other words, the public can look at your business; the businesses of your competitors; and/or completely unrelated businesses and see them in an identical way, good or bad. This means that they base their purchase decision solely on price or convenience. Because? Because they don’t have any other information!
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3. It’s not important to know what you don’t know…
This myth is the most pervasive, far-reaching, and damaging myth of all! It’s an equal opportunity fantasy whose believers are corporate CEOs; contractors; man and woman; young and old; rich and poor; high and low; moms and dads; etc
It is also the hardest to correct because the “patient” doesn’t know they are sick! It serves as the basis for prejudice, ignorance and failure and influences all decisions and behaviors of the victim, personally and professionally.
Ironically, this myth often serves as the basis for becoming an entrepreneur in the first place. Michael Gerber, in his classic book, “The E-Myth,” says that most small businesses are started by techies (people who master some skill) who have an entrepreneurial “fit.”
Just because they know how to do business work doesn’t mean they know how to run a business that does that work. For example, just because a stylist knows how to cut hair doesn’t mean they can run a hair salon business.
This is a classic case of not knowing what you don’t know. For example, any business operating in the US today must understand how the following business requirements (just to name a few) affect them and how they must be met on a daily/monthly/yearly basis:
o Payroll Taxes
or Workers’ Compensation
o State and local income tax laws
o State and local sales tax laws
o Business licenses
o Profit and Loss Accounts
or General expenses
o Financial reporting requirements
o Employee management
o Human Resources Regulations
o OSHA Regulations
o Social Security, Medicare Benefits
o Withholding Taxes
o Actual costs of operating a business
o Quarterly Tax Payments
The problem arises when technicians assume that all they need to know is how to run a business, not how to run a business. The actual costs of owning and operating your own business are far greater than the expenses associated with your rent, office furniture, utilities, etc.
Because of this, many small business owners never make a real profit…one that allows their business to grow and provides them with enough income to enjoy the lifestyle they envisioned when they started.
4. The more you do, the better you will be
By nature, entrepreneurs are more action-oriented and rich in ideas than others. For the most part, these are good traits. However, they often act as a catalyst to ‘cross the line’ and head straight for lack of focus, prioritization and the ever-common ‘do, do, do’ grind.
Let’s face it, most of us feel like we have too much to do every day…a belief that is exacerbated by owning/running a small business! Combine that with widespread notions that “if I’m not working, I’m not worth it” and/or that rapid growth requires doing even more, you have real problems. Well, I bet you even know some people who think that if they work harder and longer at anything, they’ll eventually make it! This is silly.
To develop a solid strategy, which we all know is critical to the success of your business; You must learn what is important to do and what is not. I love the analogy of a fire hose… If you turn it on, full power water goes everywhere and you won’t even be able to get a small cup. However, if you narrow it down to a drip, it will be much more capable of handling what you need.
So, if you think you’re going to fix your business in a significant way just by employing the latest marketing tricks or building a website, think again. Those are the easy things!