Businesses of all sizes make mistakes, right? (Even yours, I promise.) Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we don’t learn from our marketing mistakes -- and it’s not due to a lack of marketing know-how.

There are simply many marketing ‘myths’ that tend to be believed and acted upon even when they prove time and again to not be valid or productive:

Myth 1: Believing your own hype. Telling prospects your product is best is fine, but only if you understand what really motivates the buyer. Research customers directly to find out why your customers think a competitor’s product might be superior to yours and why your product isn’t performing as expected.

Myth 2: The lowest-priced product or service wins! Thinking that your customers will buy your product based solely on price is not a good strategy by anyone’s measure. More than anything buyers want to believe they are receiving good value for their money. If you think you’re losing out to lower-priced competitors, you may ultimately lose out to higher-value competitors. Instead, focus your marketing copy on demonstrating how your product offers the greatest value.

Myth 3: Successful businesses are very serious. Make doing business with you is easy – and may even be fun. It’s amazing how many companies make doing business with them difficult. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and insure that every contact – whether by phone, email or in person – is easy, fun and personal. Take some time to put together questions and advice to ask or offer to customers (and prospects). Make it simple to find things on your website or in your store.

Myth 4: Changing your marketing campaign frequently is the way to go. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” definitely applies here. Too many companies believe that frequently launching new marketing or ad campaigns is the way to go. Big mistake! It’s all about reach (getting to the right audience) and frequency (making sure your prospects are exposed to your message on a regular basis). Winning concepts should be given enough time to work… to sink in. Just because you’re tired of the same campaign doesn’t mean your potential customers have even come close to getting their fill or even recognize your brand.