It's not easy marketing your small business; you have to take risks and sometimes they don't pay off. But judging by the experiences of some of the most successful business people, it's often the mistakes that make them who they are today, as Rachel Miller discovers
Every entrepreneur has made mistakes. The most successful ones are those that can admit where they've gone wrong and learn from it.
Richard Branson has blogged on this very subject. He says: "One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes. When you are pushing the boundaries, this is inevitable - and it's important to realise this. Even when things are running well, there is always the prospect of a new reality round the corner."
It's clear that making mistakes along the way is inevitable. The important thing is to:
- be open-minded
- spot the mistake early
- avoid burying your head in the sand
- take action
And when it comes to marketing, it is absolutely essential to be prepared to adjust your strategy when it's not working.
Avoiding complacency in business
Ironically, success can have its downsides. The direct marketing guru Drayton Bird says: "The worst habits are: first, to start thinking you're good; second, to stop trying so hard.
"When we are successful, we tend to go out and celebrate," he explains. "This in itself is usually a mistake. What we should do is capitalise on our success. For example, if you have a winning mailing or email, follow up. An email sent out the next day that repeats one that worked will get 80% to 90% of the response. A follow-up mailing sent out two weeks later will usually get 50% of the response."
Drayton Bird believes we learn more from failure than success. "We are forced to ask ourselves what went wrong - and we learn," he says. "As I have had far, far more failures than most people, I have learned a lot."
So, what are the most common marketing mistakes made by small enterprises? They are exactly the same as those made by big business, says Bird. "Not measuring or testing. Talking about what they do rather than what their customers want."
And the best way to learn from your failures? "Ask the customers."
Admitting your mistake is the first step
Rowan Gormley knows how success can make it hard to spot your mistakes. The founder of successful online wine business Naked Wines, Gormley previously worked with Richard Branson and set up Virgin Wines.
"The lowest point in my career was when I refused to acknowledge my mistakes and believed my own publicity. The data was telling us where we were going wrong at Virgin Wines but we kept reading how brilliant we were in the press.
"I was in denial. Once we accepted what was wrong, we stripped the business down and rebuilt it and then it really took off. It's amazing how a group of highly intelligent people can get things so categorically wrong. What looks good on a Powerpoint presentation just didn't do it for the customer."
Naked Wines is a radical departure from the usual wine merchant set-up. This online business puts its customers first - they taste and choose the wines and rate them online. It's an exciting venture, says Gormley. "The fantastic thing is we can come up with an idea and have it live quickly. If it feels right we do it then we look at customer reaction and evolve it from there."
Gormley is a big believer in instinct. "It's important to go with your gut feel and make something live, before the magic has been drummed out of it. Working for Richard Branson was pretty inspirational. His point of view was always that he hadn't had his instincts educated out of him. And he has been right more often than he has been wrong."