Dear friend,you don't wanna make this Ten Marketing Mistakes.
You can save yourself some pain now.

1. Resting on your laurels. Just because you have what
you think is a good marketing plan in place today doesn't
mean it'll be right tomorrow. The pace today is so
accelerated, you must stay ahead of the game. Constantly
research what your competition is doing. Surf the Internet
to see what's new out there.

2. Hype. Sooner or later hype will catch up with you. Being
superficial and underestimating the consumer is first of
all poor taste, and second of all, it's bad business. Avoid
the jargon and the pat phrases and give substance.

3. Not having an R& Team, focus group or feedback source.
Test your ideas on others. There are some absolutely
wonderful ads out there that people remember, but they don't
remember the name of the product/company. For example, there
was a great ad out awhile ago that talked about the Bank of
the Northern Hemisphere. Very clever; everyone remembered it.
The problem was, they didn't remember the name of the bank
you were supposed to use instead.

4. Not trusting your marketing person. If you hire someone
to do your marketing, hire someone you trust and then let
them do their job. With 20 years marketing experience, I had
many interesting jobs and some interesting job interviews.
One corporation asked me, "Can you stick with a plan once
it's in place?" Red flag. Any marketing campaign must be
constantly monitored and you need to be able to switch on a
dime. An experienced marketing person can titre what's
working and what isn't. It becomes almost a sixth sense. Why
would you throw good money after bad just because changing
it is an inconvenience?

5. Not giving it time to work. It's an adage in marketing
that if you're going to say it, say it at least 3 times.
I've consulted with individuals, particularly, who send out
a brochure, no one bites, they want to abandon it. Generally
it takes 3 "hits." People run through their emails rapidly
and delete things they wish they hadn't. Make their wish
come true! Give them a second, third, fourth chance. The
formula is--when you're sick and tired of it, the public is
just beginning to hear it.

6. Being timid. There really is no such thing as bad
publicity, and things will happen. You have to have been
through this to know. Several years ago I was marketing an
apartment complex and the manager miscommunicated an "early
bird special." The whole unfortunate event made the front
page of the local newspaper with stories about parents not
being able to buy school clothes for their children,
because .... 6 months later the apartment complex was
filled to capacity. People remembered the name of the
apartment and nothing else. Carry on!

7. Not being curious. If you have an ezine edition that had
a large number of click-throughs, don't just pat yourself
on the back, ask yourself why. Figure out what was
different about it -- Was it on a special day? Was there
something different--more graphics, no graphics? A catchy
subject line? A new layout? Don't forget, you can always
ask someone who clicked-through!

8. Thinking you have to pay for marketing. Use the free
options liberally. Establish yourself as an expert on a
subject and let the press know you're willing to be
interviewed. When a national news event breaks, make it
local. For instance, I'm a coach, and when 9/11 happened,
I contacted the press to let them know what coaches had
to offer at such a time.

9. Leaving it at home. Prosaic, but we all do it. Your
business cards and brochures do absolutely no good
sitting in the office. Take them with you!

10. Following the rules. Be as thorough as you need to
be. The rule is 'be brief,' but say what you need to say.
One of the most effective mailers USAA ever did was a
5-page letter. Know the rules. Then break them.

To thrive, you need to live and breathe marketing. Look
around you all the time to see what's out there that's
working and keep your own marketing strategy fresh and
vibrant.