Running a small business is no joke. Between keeping the lights on, wrangling staff, serving customers, and making sure the bills get paid, marketing often ends up at the bottom of the to-do list. Or maybe you throw something together here and there, cross your fingers, and hope it sticks.

Let’s talk about the top five and how you can steer clear.

1. Talking Too Much About Yourself

We love a good backstory as much as anyone. You worked hard, built something from scratch, and you’re proud of it. You should be! But here’s the tough truth: customers don’t care about your story until they know you care about theirs.

Take our client Farmhouse Printing, for example. Sure, they could lead with “We’ve been screen printing for years.” But what really stands out is when they pinpoint specific problems customers have. What are their frustrations? Things like dealing with inconsistent results from online printers, or lots of minimums.  It’s all about solving the problem that’s keeping your customer up at night.

And once you’ve proven you can meet their needs, then your story becomes powerful. That’s when people lean in and want to know more about the heart behind the business. Share your “about us” later in the journey, when they’re already paying attention. Think of it like seasoning. Sprinkle your story in, don’t dump the whole jar on the plate.

2. Trying to Sell to “Everyone”

When you ask a business owner who their customer is, it’s not uncommon to hear the answer “everyone.” The thing is, if you’re trying to talk to everyone, you end up sounding like you’re talking to no one.

Pro Swim Club Meta Ad

Pro Swim Club is a great example of getting this right. In selling their swim lesson services, they didn’t target everyone. They targeted their specific audience of parents with school-age children in the local Coweta County area. The ad campaign had excellent results, as the video spoke directly to their services being able to soothe a parent’s fear of their child not knowing how to swim. Their services don’t just teach kids to swim, they give adults peace of mind. 

If you’re not sure who your audience is, start by looking at the customers who come back again and again. Who are your regulars? What do they value most? Build your marketing around those people, and you’ll naturally attract more like them. It’s like setting up a porch light. You don’t need to light up the whole town, you just need the right folks to find their way to your door.

3. Being Inconsistent

We see this all the time: a business goes hard on Facebook or Instagram for a few weeks, then vanishes until Christmas. Or they spend money on one ad campaign, don’t see instant results, and call it quits.

Marketing works like relationships. You can’t ghost people and expect them to pay attention to you!

B.Turner’s IG Feed

With our client B.Turner’s PTC, we created a multi-faceted, consistent content strategy that works. With the combination of dedicated staff in-store creating content, an ambassador program generating fresh content monthly by real customers, and our custom on-site content creation services-  we have a steady stream of engaging content that is constantly going out.

Consistency also doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. You can schedule posts ahead of time, repurpose content across platforms, or get help from a team. Even small, steady steps add up. Think of it like watering a garden. It’s better to give it a little water often than to dump a bucket once every six months and wonder why nothing is growing!

4. Ignoring Data

Numbers aren’t spooky, they’re the flashlight that shows what’s working.

Your analytics reveal which posts people love, which pages they linger on, and which emails they actually open. With B.Turner’s, we learned their “New Arrivals” video posts consistently outperformed generic sale graphics, so they leaned in and saw better results.

Example of a dashboard “widget” that shows top pages on a website

Every month, we go over our marketing client’s numbers in their customized dashboard we create for them, and this gives us amazing direction and insights for where to take things.

Check your analytics regularly and use them to guide your strategy. Your customers are already telling you what they like; all you have to do is listen.

5. Neglecting the Website

If your website looks and feels like a haunted house with broken links and old, outdated content, you’re losing customers before they even call. Your website is your digital storefront. If it’s confusing, or hard to use, people are going to walk right back out the door.

Your website doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does have to work. Clear navigation, current info, and easy ways to contact you go a long way. Think of it like keeping your shop tidy. You don’t need chandeliers and marble floors, but you do need a clean space where customers feel welcome and know exactly where to go.

Also, remember that a photo or video tells a thousand words. If your website’s imagery doesn’t draw people in, then it’s probably time to upgrade!

The Big Picture

Marketing doesn’t have to be spooky. It’s about showing up, speaking clearly to the people who need you, and using what you already know to get better over time.

If you stop talking only about yourself, get clear on your audience, stick with it, peek at your data, and give your website a little love, you’ll already be miles ahead of most small businesses!

And if all this still feels like a lot, that’s where we come in. At Country Fried Creative, we believe in marketing that’s creative, authentic, and deeply rooted in the community. We’ll help you get it done without the stress, and hopefully maybe even have a little fun along the way.