5 Marketing Myths That Are Costing You Money

Intro

You’re listening to Underestimated, the podcast that helps small business owners turn their size into their unfair advantage, so they can grow without burning out. Here’s your host, Shawna Suckow.

Introduction

Do you ever wonder if you’re spending too much on marketing? Well, I know marketing can be a huge part of any business’s budget, but it doesn’t have to be. So today we’re going to cover the five marketing myths that may be costing you money where it doesn’t have to. So let’s get started with that.

Myth 1: You Need a Big Budget

Marketing myth number one: you need a big budget. Not true these days. Sometimes a thousand dollar marketing budget can be way more effective than a ten thousand dollar or even a hundred thousand dollar marketing budget. The example I always give is corporations spend millions of dollars on marketing, but their marketing is not as effective anymore than yours is. Yours can be far more effective because of the trust crisis that we find ourselves in in North America, and your customers and prospects trust real and authentic way more than they trust polished and professional and perfect.

So if you’re spending more money to have perfect ads and perfect videos and perfect everything, you are perhaps wasting a lot of money when you just need your iPhone and something interesting to say that means something to your customers.

Myth 2: You Have to Be on Every Platform

Myth number two: you have to be on all the platforms because more is better. Also not true. Being consistent on one platform, maybe two, is far more important than being everywhere and having it be patchy.

I remember a Super Bowl ad during 2021. There was a tire commercial boasting about how you can order your tires from your phone. The guy on the couch was just a regular guy — not a model, in his socks, with a dad bod. That was corporate’s attempt to be authentic and real. For 2021, that was pretty good. But today that falls flat. Corporate is still doing that. They’re still trying to relate to your prospects in a way that you already can. Talking to the camera like you’re talking to a friend costs you nothing except time and your phone. And it’s more effective today than a $10,000 or $100,000 ad.

Myth 3: You Have to Look Professional

Myth number three: you have to look professional. I talked a lot in the 2010s about how professionalism was dead. I did get a lot of pushback, but professionalism in its truest sense is dead today when it comes to marketing. The polished, the perfect does not work as well. That’s big brands’ sandbox and it’s all they can do.

What they can’t do is just be real. They hire influencers to do that — and even the influencers have to say “this is a paid ad.” But you have this trust factor. You can build it without a lot of money, if you decide to give up the veneer of professionalism. Watch a Gen Z person. They already know how to talk on social media like real people. We just have to unlearn a few decades of “professional” conditioning.

Myth 4: Discounts Build Loyal Customers

Myth number four: discounts attract loyal customers. I feel bad for anybody that advertises on Groupon because what they’re going to get is Groupon customers and company hoppers that are just looking for the latest deal. If you are looking to attract customers the first time through discounts, you are going to attract customers that always expect a discount from you.

I shop at CVS. It’s right near my house. And CVS has trained its shoppers to expect deals on everything at least once a month. I’m not going to buy toothpaste on impulse because I know it’ll be practically free in two weeks. Same with Kohl’s — I grew to distrust them and never buy anything at full price. Don’t be the discount brand unless that is truly your strategy. Lead with trust and authenticity. Once someone is already your customer, then think about a birthday deal or an annual sale. But don’t use discounts as your first impression.

Myth 5: You Need a Marketing Agency

Myth number five: you need a big agency or even a small agency to do your marketing. For solopreneurs, mom and pops, micro companies with 20 or fewer employees? You don’t need an agency charging you thousands of dollars a month to automate things with a sprinkle of creativity.

You need AI. If you’re not comfortable personally using AI, find someone who is and pay them far less than you would pay an agency to set it up for you. Train it on your voice, your brand, your ideal customer. After that, it’s practically set it and forget it. Once a month, you get asked by AI: “What’s changed? Anything specific you want me to focus on this month?” AI can create posts, schedule things, even edit video. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective anymore. It has to be real, consistent, and actually mean something to the people you’re trying to reach.

Wrap-Up

Those are the five marketing myths that it’s time to really reconsider because they may be costing you thousands of dollars that you can repurpose into something far more important. We know that we are in recession territory, stagflation territory. Whether you’re trying to save money to help your customers afford your products right now, or wanting to cut spend so you can invest more elsewhere — look at how you’re overpaying and really consider what you can do differently. Thanks for listening.

Outro

Thanks for listening to Underestimated, hosted by Shawna Suckow. To connect with Shawna, go to thebuyerinsider.com.