Beware of One-Size-Fits-All Marketing Advice

One online business issue that I'm concerned about these days is that small business owners may not be getting the right marketing advice SPECIFIC to their business.  No matter who advises you or how much you pay for marketing, the advice is useless unless it solves your company's problems. 

As I listen to the stories that customers tell me about previous advice they've received, I've begun to realize that a lot of it is good general advice about online tactics, but it isn't worth much to someone who doesn't have that challenge.  Unfortunately, an advisor may not know how to apply real world thinking to abstract concepts. If they know how to grow a mailing list, that's the advice you get whether or not you have that problem.

For example, a local business doesn't need to gin up traffic from around the web unless she is focusing on broadening her offerings.  Someone who has an extensive mailing list doesn't need to focus on growing that as their first step, they need to look at how to convert more.

It's not my intention to criticize anyone, it's just to alert small business owners to make sure that when they hire an online advisor of any kind that they get measureable advice that relates specifically to their business. One size never fits all.

Comments

[Aid & Trade]

thank you so much for your concern about the small business owners who are not much aware of how to use this great opportunity to solve their problem online its one the greatest facility of internet and communication.
please suggest some tips so that we can use this recourse in the best possible way thank you again

[Sam10101]

Very true. Thanks for the reminder. Although I think online video marketing is a great idea, it isn't one size fits all either. But it can definitely be cost-effective because posting a video on YouTube, Vimeo, AdWido and other video sites is free and really does not take a long time.