12. The Biggest Mistake Entrepreneurs Make

Do not be tempted to skip the research phase of the marketing planning process! It does not matter if you are writing a plan (1) for a new business; (2) if you have been in business for awhile and you are writing your first plan; or (3) you are updating an existing marketing plan—do all of the exercises. I promise you will gain tremendous insight from doing them. Once you have written the plan at least once, then you can begin to update it using the real-time methods outlined throughout the book. Remember, writing a plan is always harder the first time, but once it is done, it becomes easier to keep it current.

The biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make, which causes most business to fail, or at least fail to grow, is that they don’t integrate research into the planning process. Entrepreneurs love to jump right in to creating marketing strategy and tactics, which is a huge mistake. When a business takes the time to understand how their solution solves customers’ problems, who is buying and why, then strategies and messages that are conveyed through marketing tactics are targeted and effective.

Know What You Don’t Know

Research has become considerably easier now that a myriad of Internet resources are available at your fingertips. The problem is not finding information because we are barraged with it. The problem is assimilating it and turning it into actionable knowledge to make decisions. Throughout this process, you will learn new tools and techniques to keep pace with information overload, as well as simple methods you can integrate into daily business processes so this information is organized and updated into your plan in real-time. Another technique you will learn is to use real-time research tools. We will explore how you can integrate social media, social networking, blogging, customer advisory boards, and other tools for getting actionable information in a fast and efficient way.

If you are creating your first marketing plan and have been in business for a couple of years, research will be valuable for several reasons. First, you can validate the assumptions you made when you first started your business. How has the current economic climate impacted sales and customer buying behavior? How has the economy changed the competitive environment? Is the market more price competitive or are there new opportunities in the current economy that you can take advantage of? How has your target market changed over time? Do customers value your products and services as they once did or have their wants and needs changed? All of these questions and more underlie the reason why research must become integrated into regular business practices.

Second, you will research and analyze new areas where you can grow your business based upon the successes you have had so far. It’s valuable to learn from situations that did not turn out as expected. Was the end result due to improper assumptions based on not understanding the market or customer needs? Was it an issue with execution, or was it due to market or competitive factors you did not anticipate?

Third, a marketing plan is a valuable historical document that you can review to see what assumptions you made as you evaluate business results over time. One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is the false belief that they have a marketing plan because it exists “in their mind.” This simply doesn’t work. Marketing strategy and plans must be written to completely understand, communicate, and execute them.

As you embark on your research, you will discover many benefits from the experience. One of the biggest is: You Will Know What You Don’t Know. My experience working with businesses is that they see this part of the marketing process as a journey of discovery. Entrepreneurs feel humbled from the experience, and greatly excited about the new growth opportunities they discover. They learn to be more prepared to respond to changing market conditions, and become more agile to capture new opportunities. Throughout the research phase of marketing planning, one of the biggest benefits you will receive from the process is serendipity, which is discovering pearls of wisdom and insight that you didn’t know or were unaware of. This can take your business in an entirely new direction. It happens to everyone going through this process, so remain open to new ideas.