5. Ego Shmeego

It happens to everyone at least one time or another. You've got this brilliant idea and even though your co-workers, employees or husband/wife thinks it may not be so great, dog-gonnit, you thought of it, so you're gonna to do it! Ego tempts some very bright people into irrational behavior. Base your marketing decisions from a non-emotional point of view. Think of it this way; if you were giving a friend advice about his business is this what you would advise them to do? Step back and look at it outside of your own business. I have to do this all time when promoting my own business. Kind of like, physician heal thyself. Here's a good example of big "E" getting in way: Placing ads in magazines you like, but are not your target market; Creating a very expensive looking brochure when something more simple would do.

6. I have a good feeling about this

Here we go again. You're relying on your feelings or a hunch without concrete facts or projections. Investigate new opportunities completely. When it comes to business marketing decisions, get ice running through your veins.

7. Not Measuring Results

How do you know if your marketing efforts are working if you don't evaluate your plans? Measuring results from your strategies will tell you what to continue with and what to eliminate. Try tactics like survey's, coded coupons, focus groups, ask when someone calls "How did you hear about us?"

8. Canceling Marketing Efforts When things Get Tight

This is very worst thing you can do, yet it is what almost everybody does! Cash flow starts to flow and you look at your marketing budget as something "extra" you can eliminate for now. Wrong! No marketing, no money coming in. Now you may want to change your strategy of how you are marketing, but not eliminate it all together. Keep your communication going even when times get tough.

9. Not Getting Help When You Need it

Penny-wise, pound foolish. If you're too busy to handle your marketing efforts, lack knowledge or want to have a more professional look, you must call back-up! Hire a consultant or a small marketing person/agency on retainer to handle these very important marketing decisions. The money you pay them should come back to you many times over!

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SCENARIO 2 You ran same ad in two different ezines. You paid same price for each ad. Ezine A sent you 1000 visitors. Ezine B sent you 250 visitors. Which ad should you rerun? Which ezine would cause you to look for similar ezines?

Pause for a second and give your answer.

Did you say "Ezine A sent more traffic, so place another ad in Ezine A and find more like it"? Or, did you notice missing piece of information? That piece of information is: How did each ad perform?

Suppose Ezine A sent 1000 visitors and you got 1 sale. Ezine B sent 250 visitors and you got 5 sales. NOW which ad would you rerun? NOW which ezine would you try to find similar ezines?

You might say it's not fair I didn't give you all information in each scenario. You're right, it wasn't fair, but it was accurate. Similar scenarios happen everyday in real life, leading webmasters to make poor decisions which keep their sales low.

The reason you're not selling more is you don't have "the right information". You get right information by asking right questions and applying useful technology.

As you saw in both scenarios, when you had "some information", it was easy to make a wasteful and ineffective decision. With right information, you can make decisions that positively impact on your bottom line.