Balancing Act: 3 Tips To Help Entrepreneurs Avoid Beginners Marketing Mistakes

Marketing can be terrifying for any new organization, especially for anyone who doesn't have the right background or experience. If you're trying to grow your small business, be sure to take some time to really plan everything out and to follow through on your plan, content and analytics. If you've never learned the right way to balance the job of a marketer, here are three tips to help you avoid the common mistakes of many marketing beginners.
 

A good plan takes time

A good marketing plan takes both time and money. That means you can't pull out of your marketing plans too early or you'll never reap the rewards. It's very common for a business to get excited about some new marketing idea, institute that idea, then get frustrated when it doesn't pay off after just a month or two. Instead, stick it out, give your marketing campaign time to work, otherwise you're just throwing money away.

Keep up

Part of the job of marketing is keeping up with the latest industry trends. Sticking to what you already know may be easier, but with technology changing as rapidly as it is, and with people's online habits changing as much as they are, it's crucial that you stay up to date with everything going on in the industry. Keep apprised of the latest tools, research and software to really keep your business on the cutting edge of marketing know-how.

Analyze everything

As your marketing plans play out, analyze what you've done so you can see what worked, what didn't work and what you can learn going forward. Be willing to analyze all the data, and don't look at it through rose-colored glasses. Be honest with yourself and your business, and if something isn't working, pull the plug. Don't work on trying to make a bad situation look good when it's better to just cut your losses and move on to something that will work.

This article was written by Deborah Flomberg of Examiner.com for CBS Small Business Pulse.