Once you have past the goal of creating a beneficial and necessary product, it seems like marketing is the second most important aspect for your business.

Marketing your products and services to the public will be what persuades them to buy or ignore your new products and services, but it is important to remember that marketing isn’t everything.

If you have any confusions or misunderstandings about marketing, you should find out everything you can before you spend too much time and money marketing your products and services. There are three common misconceptions in the marketing world that can destroy your business.

1. Marketing and advertising are the same thing.
   This is simply untrue. They are similar, in a sense, but they are not nearly the same thing. Advertising is making new and old customers aware of products and services. It is usually geared towards a specific product and it makes the people aware of your new product or services. Advertising, in a way, convinces the public that your product is necessary but it is more of the way you speak to your audience.
   
   Marketing, on the other hand, takes research. It takes customer service and public relations. Marketing is where you learn about whom your target audience will be, what it is their problems are and how your products and services will best serve them. Marketing is the tool you use to persuade the audience to buy your product.
2. You absolutely need media.
   Many business owners and startup founders tend to think that they need media to be successful in advertising and marketing their business. Small businesses actually thrive on word of mouth rather than the utilization of the media.
   
   Building good relationships and excelling in customer service is one of the ways your business will spread the word about itself to each and every customer. The reputation you build for your small business will speak for itself. Too much media can actually hurt small businesses, because you don’t always have new products or services to market.  As quickly as you can spread information, you can also drive potential customers away from flooding them with too much.
3. More is better.
   Again, with the flooding of information: this is bad.
   
   Yes, getting more in the product for the same price is obviously an exception, but more is not necessarily better in all situations. For example, using social media to spread the word about a new sale or discount your business has to offer can be helpful but it can also be overwhelming if you are constantly posting about the same sale or discount every day. A customer can look up how long the sale is going on without you having to post over and over about it.

   People don’t need to be told about something consistently unless the information is different every time. Especially when it comes to social media and the Internet, most people are aware of how to find things on their own – they don’t need to be told ten times a week.

   The same can be said for email marketing or direct mail marketing; pick out consistent times and days during the month to send emails or letters, but don’t flood someone’s mailbox with information that they’re already aware of.

Getting the best out of your marketing can be difficult. If you need more tips or marketing advice, contact us today. We can help you get the best out of your marketing tactics, offer new techniques and give you exclusive tools that you won’t be able to get from anywhere else.