Turn common marketing blind spots into your biggest opportunities.
You Can’t See the Label from Inside the Jar
Most small business owners work hard at their marketing. But despite all the time and money going into lead generation, they know their results could be better. In fact, it’s one of the concerns I hear most often as a business coach: I’m putting time and money into marketing, but I’m just not sure what else I should do to attract more qualified leads.
The mistakes they’re making in their marketing aren’t usually obvious from the owner’s perspective, deep inside the business. It’s impossible for them to know what prospects are seeing, hearing, or understanding from the outside looking in. As the saying goes, you can’t see the label from inside the jar.
Here are 10 of the most common mistakes I see, and what to do instead.
1. Making a generic promise instead of a specific offer.
“Excellent customer service” isn’t an effective marketing message, even when it’s what you pride yourself on the most. Almost every competitor claims the same thing, so to a prospect trying to choose who to call, it just sounds like fluff. The fix is a specific, compelling offer: something concrete enough that a prospect can picture it. (Like the example here).
2. Making it about you instead of about them.
Your marketing should speak to your prospect’s needs, frustrations, fears, or aspirations. Not your years in business, your awards, or your process. Those things matter to you, but they won’t move a prospect until they’re 100% convinced you understand them.
3. Over-relying on one or two lead sources.
This is the mistake that feels safest and is actually the riskiest. If most of your leads come from one platform or channel (especially one you don’t control, like a social media platform or word of mouth) you’re one step away from a crisis. The goal is diversification: aim for 7-10 effective lead sources. That way, if one stops working, you’re not sunk.
4. Selling a discount instead of value.
Positioning yourself as the cheap option can work… until someone cheaper comes along. As Jeffrey Gitomer put it: “Don’t compete on price. Compete on value.” The better question isn’t “how do I get cheaper,” it’s “how do I become the business people are happy to pay a premium for?”
5. Misunderstanding what marketing’s job actually is.
Marketing isn’t a sales pitch. It’s education and communication. It’s a long-term relationship-builder, not a short-term transaction tool. Ask yourself: when a lead is looking for more information before they buy, what do they find? If the answer is “not much,” that’s a marketing gap.
6. Telling instead of showing.
Anyone can claim they’re great. Proof is what actually persuades. Think stats, guarantees, case studies, and testimonials. Track whether you’re actually delivering on your promises, and use that evidence in your marketing instead of just restating the promise louder.
7. Ignoring your marketing numbers.
If you don’t know what’s working and what isn’t, you can’t know where to invest more time or money. Test, measure, understand your conversion rates at each stage. And when something isn’t working, don’t just do more of it! As April Dunford puts it: “ Like speaking Japanese slowly and loudly to a person who speaks only English, putting a bigger marketing budget behind confusing and unclear positioning doesn’t work.”
8. No clear goals, no marketing plan.
A real marketing plan is shaped by actual market research, structured around a calendar, grounded in a SWOT analysis, and designed to deliver on your top priorities. Without that structure, “marketing” becomes a list of disconnected activities instead of a strategy.
9. Inconsistent marketing.
Posting once because you remembered to, or showing up to a single event, won’t drive consistent leads. Familiarity builds trust. That means knowing where your audience is and having enough resources dedicated to being consistently present. For most businesses, this means someone needs to own each marketing strategy as a dedicated responsibility, not an afterthought.
10. Targeting the wrong audience.
You can’t know what to send or what offer to make until you know exactly who you’re talking to. This is also why copying a competitor’s strategy rarely works. Their research (if they even did any) was built for their audience, not yours.
Almost every mistake on this list comes from the same root cause:
Treating marketing as a series of disconnected tactics instead of a system built on real understanding of your customer.
This Week’s Takeaway
We’re covering all 10 of these, with real examples and what-to-do-instead specifics, at this month’s ActionCLUB session. You’ll walk away with more clarity and focus on your marketing plan, along with action steps to improve your results.
Details and registration here → extramilecoach.ca/actionclub
Upcoming Event:
ActionCLUB – Top 10 Marketing Mistakes, and What To Do Instead
Join ActionCLUB on Friday, August 21st from 10-1 to avoid the most common marketing pitfalls that keep service businesses stuck in the feast-or-famine cycle, and learn practical strategies to attract clients consistently!
Details
“Top 10 Marketing Mistakes, and What To Do Instead”
- Friday August 21, 10am-1pm
- In-person at IDEA Mississauga
- Visitor Tickets: $60
- Includes interactive sessions, table discussions & a networking lunch.
Reserve Your Spot: extramilecoach.ca/visit
SYSTEMology: by David Jenyns
SYSTEMology is a practical resource for any business owner who feels like too much of the business still depends on them. David Jenyns challenges the idea that owners need to document every process themselves, instead sharing a framework for building systems that your team can help create, follow, and improve over time.
If you want a digital copy, David has kindly shared it as an audio book on YouTube, and you can pick up the PDF version here!
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