50 marketing mistakes / Mistake #40
Mistake #40 of 50Don’t believe every marketing “expert.”
What worked for someone selling online courses may be worthless for a plumber. Test it on your own business.
What it costs you
Somebody else’s advice. Your money.
There’s a guy online with a million followers. He says you need a webinar. Or a funnel. Or three videos a day.
He sounds sure. There’s a nice car in the background.
But he sells online courses. You run a gym. Or a salon. Or an auto shop.
Most marketing advice was written for somebody else’s budget, and somebody else’s customers.
If a big company wastes money on a bad idea, somebody gets a stern email. If you waste it, that might be your payroll.
A real example
The gym and the guru
A gym owner watches a video from a marketing guru. “Stop handing out flyers. It’s all online now. Build a free email course and run ads to it.”
So she spends a month, and a chunk of money, building one.
A handful of people sign up. Most of them live nowhere near her gym.
Then she starts asking every new member, “How did you hear about us?”
A friend brought them. They walked by. They saw a member’s gym T-shirt. Nobody says the email course.
The guru wasn’t lying. He just wasn’t talking about her gym.
She put the money back into what her own members said works: bring a friend, and you both get a shirt.
Why it happens
Why the experts sound so convincing
Your customers are the only experts who count.
Do this instead
Test it on your own business.
Good advice is worth trying. Just try it small, count what comes back, and let your customers decide.
| Before you | Do this |
|---|---|
| Spend the money | Ask: who is this expert’s customer? Is it anything like mine? |
| Go all in | Try it small first. One month. One mailer. One test. |
| Call it a win | Give it its own code, so you know exactly what came back. |
| Trust the views | Count new customers, not likes. |
| Keep paying for it | Ask every new customer, “How did you hear about us?” |
| Decide | Do more of what brought people in. Stop what didn’t. |
Every dollar you spend should be able to prove it brought something back. If the expert’s idea can’t, it doesn’t matter how many followers he has.
Do this today
- 1
Write down the last piece of marketing advice you followed, and who it came from.
- 2
Ask yourself: does this person sell to customers like mine?
- 3
Start asking every new customer, “How did you hear about us?”
- 4
Next month, keep what brought people in, and cut what didn’t, no matter who recommended it.
Listen to everybody. Believe your customers. Then go ask them for the next order.
From the book
Chapter 3: Every Penny Counts
Starts on page 24. The whole chapter, plus 250+ ways to market your business, in the free book.
Download the free bookIdeas that fix it
What your own customers say works.
Idea 167 · book page 345Performance T-Shirts$7–$18 eachWorn during every workout.
Idea 147 · book page 335Water Bottles$4–$12 eachCarried everywhere, every day.
Idea 129 · book page 326Drawstring Backpacks$2–$8 eachBig imprint, carried around town.
Idea 121 · book page 322Cooling Towels$2–$6 eachOn a hot day, it feels like magic.Want a plan tested on your own customers?
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