3 Ways Small Businesses Waste Money on Marketing

The good news is you are not alone. And while other small business owners have learned lessons the hard way, you don’t have to. That’s because, in today’s world of digital marketing, a lot of marketing is measurable and public.

So you can let other people’s trial and error inform your decisions. That way whether you work with a small business marketing agency or DIY your marketing, you won’t fall into the same traps that have Below you’ll find a quick and easy guide to learn from others’ mistakes. Plus, you’ll see some examples of how small business marketing companies on TDA have helped small businesses with digital marketing strategies that avoid wasting money and drive business success.

Money Waster #1

In the digital age, you can measure just about everything. Unfortunately, many small business owners and managers measure things that aren’t always relevant. Traffic to your website is great. But if you are, say, a small business selling kitchen equipment in Los Angeles, having a lot of web traffic from India is probably not that valuable.

Lots of small business owners know they need to spend money on digital marketing and invest their budget in getting traffic or generating leads without targeting the locations they want that traffic and those leads to come from. As a result, they spend money to gain reach and get in front of a lot of irrelevant people, rather than being hyper targeted on the people they want to sell to.

Local Marketing Example: Storm Roofers Texas
Small business marketing agency: Tulumi Digital Marketing

A good small business marketing agency like Tulumi guides its clients through the ins and outs of digital local marketing. With a combination of a website optimized for local searchers and smart digital advertising spending, small businesses like Storm Roofers can win big in their local markets.

Money Waster #2

Many small businesses don’t defend their brand against bigger competitors coming in and taking their customers. How many pizzerias have lost business when a Domino’s or Pizza Hut opens up in the neighborhood? How many hardware stores survive the arrival of a brand new Home Depot or Lowe’s?

With the growth of big-box retailers and online powerhouses like Amazon, the way forward is not easy for small businesses that don’t differentiate themselves and instill loyalty in their customers.

Branding Example: Establishing a Comprehensive Search Presence
Small business marketing agency: Kobe Digital

Fox Rent A Car worked with Kobe Digital marketing agency to find ways to maximize their offerings and compete with the biggest names in the car rental business. Through a combination of digital advertising and search engine optimization, they were able to save $9,000 per month in advertising while increasing the reach of their brand to target more prospective customers.

Money Waster #3

Small business owners know that they need to pay for results, but too often they pay a lot for intrusive marketing tactics when they should be using free or low-cost content marketing tactics.

Content marketing, in a nutshell, means publishing useful, informative content that educates customers so that they come to you, rather than you having to chase them down. Rather than interrupting random people’s entertainment experiences (i.e. anything from Super Bowl commercials to ads in magazines) with your marketing messages, content marketing targets people who already care about the thing your product does or the problem your service solves.

With the low cost of publishing online these days, you can reach your market for significantly less money than you would have to spend on a traditional advertising campaign. Combined with a smart digital advertising strategy like the ones above, content marketing can power all of your marketing efforts

Content Marketing Example: How I Used Content Marketing to Boost My Search Rankings
Small business marketing agency: Shane Barker Consulting

Shane Barker Consulting shows just how effective content marketing can be for a small business. In this case, a small fitness business that was struggling to convert prospects into customers used content marketing to target the right audience and significantly increase conversion rates.

Stop Wasting Money

Saving by hiring? Surprisingly, hiring a small business marketing agency can be the smartest way to save money on marketing. After all, the costly mistakes above are easy to avoid with a good agency. But how do you ensure that you find a good one? Check out The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Choosing an Agency to get started now.