1) Executing without a strategy.
Before you create anything: is your marketing in sync with where you need to take your business? Do you know what positioning strategy will give you an edge?

2) Self-centeredness.
Of course you think your product is great. But what do prospects think is great about it? Have you asked them? Did you know your competitors are making the same claim?

3) Forgetting Sales.
Nothing happens until somebody sells something. Do you know what your sales team needs help with? Getting in the door? Leads? The credibility to close? A better presentation?

4) Expecting too much for too little.
You ran one ad and the heavens didn’t open up? You built a website and they didn’t come? Your first campaign didn’t pay for itself 5 times over? Wish it worked that way. In reality, it takes an ongoing program. And time.

5) Dullness. Or excessive cleverness.
Sorry, you can’t bore people into noticing you. A spec sheet isn’t an ad. And a plodding PowerPoint isn’t a presentation. At the same time, be too clever and you risk losing your audience too. It’s a balancing act.

6) Inconsistency.
The message in your ads has nothing to do with your direct mail. Your brochure and website look like they’re from different companies. Good way to get less value per marketing dollar.

7) Trying to be everything to everyone.
Are you all over the place, or do you have a clear focus? Do you stand for so many things that you stand for nothing? Are you tackling too many target markets? Are you spreading resources too thin?

The big mistake in tough times: cutting muscle as well as fat.
When the economy is in this kind of crunch, it affects every business sector. Time to cut out any fat in every budget. But spare the muscle. Reallocate marketing dollars. Laser-targeted marketing programs that support your high-priority initiatives will make them work better, many times over.

Research shows that companies who market aggressively during a recession come out stronger when the economy recovers. They share gain market and keep it.