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Have you ever taken blurry, out-of-focus photos before only to discover that the problem wasn’t your photography skills, but the camera lens? After cleaning the glass, your photos were perfect. Often, in business, it’s the same. We can operate within a blurry lens and not even realize it.
My company has worked with over 115,838 entrepreneurs (and counting), so I know that sometimes entrepreneurs have blind spots in their marketing. We are all guilty of it! We don’t know what we don’t know.
But the first step is to carefully analyze your perspective: the lens through which you see your audience and business goals. The challenge is to free yourself from any limitations and expand your vision so you can reach more potential customers with the right message.
Here are some common traps entrepreneurs run into when creating a marketing strategy and how to expand your mindset to increase annual revenue and build strong customer loyalty.
Related: 6 Marketing Pitfalls That Can Bedevil Your Business
You’re too focused on digital marketing and neglect offline touchpoints that provide 70% higher recall.
Often those who are familiar feel comfortable and for younger generations, such as Millennials and Generation Z, there is a stigma of being glued to their phones 24/7. However, what is not it’s familiar sometimes it can strike a stronger chord. Print advertising, like postcards and letters, actually excites younger generations because it is outside of their normal scope.
One study found that 57% of 18- to 34-year-olds said they found direct mail extremely or very useful, while another survey showed that 63% of Gen Z consumers were most enthusiastic about direct mailings in 2023 versus 2022.
In fact, scientific studies have even shown that direct mailing has a more lasting impact than digital media. Researchers found that direct mail holds people’s attention 118% more and drives brand recall 70% more than digital advertising.
Whether you’re a young entrepreneur who’s relied on digital marketing because it’s always been your go-to, or you assume that all potential customers naturally gravitate towards online content, it’s time to think outside the box and get more creative in the way you present your business. products or services in the tangible sphere.
Try direct mail, track the results, and you may find that recipients respond even better to printed content. Remember, a postcard can stay in a home for months while an email is often ignored or trashed within seconds of opening.
Related: Direct mail marketing strategies to target Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z
You don’t research your competition to discover new ways to grow your business
It’s possible to be so focused on your own business that you have no idea what your competitors are doing. But this is a huge blind spot. It’s crucial to take the time to learn about your competition. Start with blind shopping, for example by subscribing to their newsletter, visiting their website, analyzing the shopping experience and following their social media.
You may not want to copy what they’re doing, but you can analyze what they’re doing well, what they’re not doing well, and how you can offer something unique that fills those holes. For example, your competitor might have an amazing social media presence, but no live events or tangible touchpoints for their followers.
You could create more opportunities for potential customers to interact with you in a pleasant way, such as shopping events, meetings, in-person consultations or training courses if it applies to your industry. Or, if a competitor does a lot of email marketing, you might make an effort to do the same, but include an enticing offer that’s far better than what they’re offering.
As you continue to analyze other businesses, not just your competitors, actually any business you might interact with, save marketing materials or ideas you like in a folder and use them as inspiration.
Related: This powerful marketing strategy will help you outshine your competitors and make your brand more memorable
Never ask your customers why they prefer you over the competition to discover the secrets of brand loyalty
After making some secret purchases and gathering inspiration from other companies, I suggest asking your customers directly what they love about your products and/or services and why they ended up choosing you over the competition.
Some questions you might ask include: How much research did you do before making your decision? What was the determining factor after looking at the options? Was there something that struck you and that you liked about us, different from everyone else?
You may have a couple of loyal customers that you are in regular contact with and feel comfortable contacting. But if you don’t, you can always use a survey site, like SurveyMonkey, Jotform, or Mailchimp.
You’ll never know what your customers really think until you ask them, and you have nothing to lose by trying!
One way to attract more surveys is to offer them a discount or free item for completing them. You can also motivate your employees to provide feedback by offering them gadgets or a small bonus if their marketing ideas are used and successful.
By staying open-minded and curious, you’ll enter new areas of growth for your company and also learn more about your mission and brand along the way.