As a business owner, what are some pains you experience when it comes to marketing?

[Unique Designz]

I am looking to write some valuable blog articles that address some pains business owners experience when it comes to marketing their business.

As a business owner, what are some frustrations you have when it comes to marketing your business?

[Harold Mansfield]

When you're first starting out, it's all painful. Marketing is hard, time consuming, and to do it effectively really takes some marketing training or education. Most small business owners learn it on their own and it's difficult to get to the level of the professionals when you are self taught in this area.

My answer overall, especially when you're first starting out or learning is Marketing = Painful. All of it. From Branding to Advertising.

[will.i.earn]

I can't imagine having to start from scratch on my own. For me, marketing is much more about making friends with people who can teach you a thing or two about how to market in your niche. It's about handing business cards in meetups, talking to other business owners and finding the courage to walk up to a potential mentor.

[Blessed]

The main problem I've found when trying to help other businesses market themselves is that they don't know how to identify who they should be marketing to. Once you figure out who you should be marketing to, then you have to figure out where and how to reach them.

Branding is a difficult concept for most new business owners to grasp too - partly because it sometimes takes a little while to figure out exactly what your brand is - it's kinda like an 18 year old going to college they start their freshman year and either know exactly where they are going or just have a general idea - then they start learning, going to classes, seminars, campus activities, meeting new people, encountering different socio-economic backgrounds and their vision of the future starts changing - maybe they encounter a field they never knew about, or maybe they hate the classes they are taking for their major but love some elective they took so they start exploring options in that new direction. The point is that many people end up with a different degree and/or life plan at the end of that 4 year stint in college than they started out with right out of high school. For an individual new to having their own business it's much the same - you have an idea of where you're going when you start out, but time and experience in the market tend to solidify that direction and often it's not exactly what you originally thought you would be doing. Once you have a solid direction and are confident in the plan you have for your business it's easier to develop branding that will stand the test of time.

[Unique Designz]

I can't imagine having to start from scratch on my own. For me, marketing is much more about making friends with people who can teach you a thing or two about how to market in your niche. It's about handing business cards in meetups, talking to other business owners and finding the courage to walk up to a potential mentor.

Keyword you mentioned for me was "Teach." Marketing is such a daunting task for some people so why not connect with people who do it for a living. lol Excellent point. I couldn't agree more.

[Unique Designz]

The main problem I've found when trying to help other businesses market themselves is that they don't know how to identify who they should be marketing to. Once you figure out who you should be marketing to, then you have to figure out where and how to reach them.

Branding is a difficult concept for most new business owners to grasp too - partly because it sometimes takes a little while to figure out exactly what your brand is - it's kinda like an 18 year old going to college they start their freshman year and either know exactly where they are going or just have a general idea - then they start learning, going to classes, seminars, campus activities, meeting new people, encountering different socio-economic backgrounds and their vision of the future starts changing - maybe they encounter a field they never knew about, or maybe they hate the classes they are taking for their major but love some elective they took so they start exploring options in that new direction. The point is that many people end up with a different degree and/or life plan at the end of that 4 year stint in college than they started out with right out of high school. For an individual new to having their own business it's much the same - you have an idea of where you're going when you start out, but time and experience in the market tend to solidify that direction and often it's not exactly what you originally thought you would be doing. Once you have a solid direction and are confident in the plan you have for your business it's easier to develop branding that will stand the test of time.

Love it! What you wrote sounds exactly like what I went through in college. I started as a business major and graduated with a communications degree. lol The key to my college career was that I recognized what I liked and what I was good at and made it my focus.

Once businesses find out what their good at, branding themselves becomes a littler easier...

[Blessed]

Love it! What you wrote sounds exactly like what I went through in college. I started as a business major and graduated with a communications degree. lol The key to my college career was that I recognized what I liked and what I was good at and made it my focus.

Once businesses find out what their good at, branding themselves becomes a littler easier...

I started out as a business major too - hated it.
Loved my science classes.
Got a job as a receptionist at a twice weekly newspaper and found my niche when my boss asked me to try my hand at cold calling to sell advertising in a state-wide high school publication we put out. I tripled the amount of ads and had to help design them because I sold so many the designer couldn't keep up. That was fun. So I started taking advertising and PR classes and the rest is history! Before I left the paper, when I got married and moved, I was the managing editor - that was an interesting job, I almost kept it, but it would have meant commuting 2 hours each way a minimum of twice a week so it wasn't practical.

[Harold Mansfield]

The main problem I've found when trying to help other businesses market themselves is that they don't know how to identify who they should be marketing to. Once you figure out who you should be marketing to, then you have to figure out where and how to reach them.


Spot on! Almost no one that I work with has any idea who their target market is, and that's mainly because they can't sit down and figure out who they are.

This is always the hardest part trying to help someone brand and market themselves just to do something as simple as building a website. They are so scared of defining themselves because they think it's somehow limiting and that they'll miss something. So they leave this open, general, idea out there which basically leaves potential customers guessing and they end up getting nothing. If you can't spit out who you are, you'll never be able to target the customers who need that, properly.

So now you basically have no branding, and no marketing. You're just open for business and hope enough people get it and call.

If you take large brands and look at their marketing....like McDonalds. They don't run one commercial that sells breakfast, and hamburgers, and Mc Ribs, and Shamrock shakes in the same commercial. They run different commercials. They are targeting different types of customers. When they have a new product they run promotions just for that product. They don't try to lump it all into one commercial.

Look at when companies like Buick and Mercedes runs commercial. It's not just by happenstance when they air, or what programs they air on. It's a strategy targeting specific types of people. They know college football games attract college graduates, who generally have a higher income level and are generally in the corporate world. You don't see Mercedes running commercials during Duck Dynasty. But Ford does. Different target market.

Home Depot -> Home Improvement shows, National News, and College Football.

The average small business can't afford to be McDonalds or Buick, but you can learn from them about how to target the customers that you want for the products and services that you have. I'm not saying you need to be just one thing, but your marketing needs to have a direction. Not just this general idea that you just throw out there and wait to see what sticks.

There are thousands of examples of targeting all around you. Just look at how you get targeted. It's not coincidence.

[Unique Designz]

Spot on! Almost no one that I work with has any idea who their target market is, and that's mainly because they can't sit down and figure out who they are.

This is always the hardest part trying to help someone brand and market themselves just to do something as simple as building a website. They are so scared of defining themselves because they think it's somehow limiting and that they'll miss something. So they leave this open, general, idea out there which basically leaves potential customers guessing and they end up getting nothing. If you can't spit out who you are, you'll never be able to target the customers who need that, properly.

So now you basically have no branding, and no marketing. You're just open for business and hope enough people get it and call.

If you take large brands and look at their marketing....like McDonalds. They don't run one commercial that sells breakfast, and hamburgers, and Mc Ribs, and Shamrock shakes in the same commercial. They run different commercials. They are targeting different types of customers. When they have a new product they run promotions just for that product. They don't try to lump it all into one commercial.

Look at when companies like Buick and Mercedes runs commercial. It's not just by happenstance when they air, or what programs they air on. It's a strategy targeting specific types of people. They know college football games attract college graduates, who generally have a higher income level and are generally in the corporate world. You don't see Mercedes running commercials during Duck Dynasty. But Ford does. Different target market.

Home Depot -> Home Improvement shows and College Football.

The average small business can't afford to be McDonalds or Buick, but you can learn from them about how to target the customers that you want for the products and services that you have. I'm not saying you need to be just one thing, but your marketing needs to have a direction. Not just this general idea that you just throw out there and wait to see what sticks.

There are thousands of examples of targeting all around you. Just look at you get targeted. It's not coincidence.

Bravo!! I admit I felt the exact same way you described. I like what you said about "Watch how you get targeted..." I may quote that from you in my blog! lol ;)

[Helper101]

Funding the business is painful enough for me. Branding and Marketing is the fun part, I have business experience not exactly a major but I took a class over the manner.

[Unique Designz]

Funding the business is painful enough for me. Branding and Marketing is the fun part, I have business experience not exactly a major but I took a class over the manner.

Funding is completely different can of worms... Some of my clients dread having to put together a brochure or advertisement so I am glad to see that you actually like having to that part of business! ;)

[greatsuccess]

Congratulations and wishing great success in your new business. Yes, we all have these growing pains. But as you learn how to market your product and then learn what markets actually work for you, it will get easier. Hang in there and don't ever give up:)

[singhabhishek251]

Marketing is something painful for everyone whether it is a new business owner or an experienced old business owner the difference is only the amount of worry that both gets. Everyone try to get more business with the help of marketing and budget is the most difficult aspect of any marketing strategy because no one knows which investment will be more profitable and where to invest more for extra sale.