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Who hasn't had a typo in their marketing materials - a wrong phone number, or "Call not" anyone? Of course, you know that proofreading can easily fix these problems. Proofreading is an important part of the marketing process. From addresses on label printing to your billboard text, everything needs to be proofread. That's a fundamental mistake that many small business owners make. There's just not enough time to catch the little stuff, right? But those little things are what make your marketing materials bomb.

There are some other important marketing mistakes that many entrepreneurs make, too. Here are the top three:

Mistake #1: Thinking that marketing is something you "do."
Generally, when people think of doing some marketing, what they're actually referring to is publicity - things like direct mail, flyers and print ads. Publicity is just one part of marketing. Marketing also includes the attitudes of your customer service staff, your pricing, policies and more. It's everything you do to attract customers to your business.

Mistake #2: Focusing too much on you.
It's great to be confident about your product and business, and to think you have the greatest product out on the market. Actually, if you don't think that, it could be a problem! But, just because you think you are great doesn't mean you need to tell people what you think of your great product. People could care less what you think - they want to know about your great product as it pertains to them.

You need to connect with your customers by telling them how your product will benefit them. You can't convince people to buy your product until you connect with them. Benefits are the best way to connect with them - plainly tell your customers how your product will benefit them or solve one of their problems.

Mistake #3: Not differentiating your company from your competition.
A lawyer is a lawyer, right? They basically have the same services and they all wear suits. But in a way, it can be a good thing if you are similar to your competition - this makes even the smallest difference have a big impact on your business.

Think about identical twins. The first thing people do when they see them is look for the smallest difference to tell them apart. That's what your prospects will do when they compare you and your competition: look for the smallest difference.

If you're having trouble finding something to differentiate yourself from the competition, start by making a list of your points of contact with your prospects and customers. Your points of contact include your business card, invoice, Web site, brochures - basically anything that you use to communicate with your customers. Then compare your points of contact with your competitors - how can you make yours look radically different? Or, you can use different points of contact than your competitor to get prospects' attention.

If you avoid these three mistakes, plus proofread all your marketing materials, you'll be well on your way to a successful marketing campaign.

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