3 reasons why your marketing isn’t working

By Gareth Henry   |   Last Updated 6 December 2021

There is a common misconception that marketing is easy. Unfortunately, it isn’t. Marketing can take up valuable time, leave you exhausted and nervous, and it’s hard to know what the best strategy is for your business in the first place.

This article explores three reasons small businesses fail at marketing, including how to overcome the dreaded marketers’ block!

Reason #1: Your audience is not engaged at all

When it comes to digital marketing, you can’t just create a campaign and hope for the best. You need to understand who your target audience is and what engages them.

If you’re not engaging with your customers or followers, then you’re doing something wrong. Try creating social media posts that are interactive, ask questions, and test engagement on various platforms.

Don’t start up with serious business infomercials on TikTok. Wrong platform! That is an obvious example but illustrates you are neither getting your timing correct nor the audience in all likelihood.

How can you tell your audience is engaged? 

Your audience is engaged if you have comments, likes, and DMs from your posts! 

Most posts and ads are going to fall a bit flat as you search for the magic combo, but if you never strike gold, look at your positioning in your audience’s marketplace and start considering if your current strategy is doomed to fail.

Reason #2: Your content isn’t memorable

Your content needs to be memorable and relate to something in your target audience’s memory to complete the synapse. People need to be able to recall what they’ve seen and heard from you – it has to make an impression.

If your content is very unremarkable, it isn’t going to create a memory. That should be obvious. Suppose your audience is obsessing over Guitar Hero, and your ad has a Guitar Hero theme and punchline. In that case, your audience will ‘click.’ But if your ad is bizarro colours and mayhem, people will escape your ad and your personality at any cost. So we walk a fine line.

There’s a lot of noise out there, so your content must stand out. Adding humour and being open to controversy is an essential element. Like in the movie Suicide Squad, we’re not all superheroes, nor do we want to be! People don’t always enjoy too serious or dry work, so keep it light when you can. Even if your business isn’t funny, adding some comedy and wit will go a long way to standing out.

Reason #3: You’re too cheap

Let’s start with a prevalent digital marketing scenario.

You send an unengaging email (it happens) to 5,000 people. 20% of people will read the email. So you are taking up 90 seconds of 1,000 people. That is an entire day of humanities time you have wasted.

What did you pay for that in real terms? 50 cents? You should’ve paid a massive fine! But you’ve paid more than you think, as only one lousy touchpoint is enough to lose most prospective customers. However, if you’d vetted your email, paid for some professional content, and spent $100, you’d have paid your dues. And in due time, you’ll be rewarded.

Stop looking at the up-front cost as an optional cost that can be circumnavigated with your brilliance. Instead, look at how much time your ad/email/website takes and pay for people’s valuable time in marketing outlay. Then, assign a dollar value to it.

Like putting fuel in the car, marketing is a bill paid in advance. You aren’t going to get where you are going fast by pushing the car.

What is marketer’s block?

This block is just as problematic as writer’s block; it’s painful and bogs down any advancing towards your goals.

I’ve found the most significant difference between small business owners and marketers is the immense speed difference in producing working results, creating its momentum.

To overcome this block, small businesses need to specifically identify what jobs aren’t being done fast and create a plan of action.

How to overcome marketer’s block 

If you have something on your list longer than a week after commencement, start writing more detailed content orders. Then, discuss it with your team at the beginning of the following week when everyone is fresh. If you cannot solve the issue internally, outsource.

Implementing the above rule as a small business isn’t always an easy choice. You are invested in your business and want things perfect, and you are unsure if the marketing side needs such priority in time, attention and funds.

You might feel like giving up because it feels impossible to conquer the mountain of unlimited content, social media, and SEO tasks. However, if you want to take your business to the next level, it’s time to face the music and start marketing like a pro!

Some helpful tips:

• Utilise resources such as Google Trends and YouTube for ideas on popular content and how you can tap into that trend.
• Schedule time for social media and content creation, don’t let it take over your day.
• Get organised and create a plan of attack.
• Give yourself time to experiment and learn – you won’t become an expert overnight!

The most important thing is not to give up. Instead, keep trying, and eventually, you will find what works for your business.