They want to feel like you care about their business as much as they do.

Your vendors also want to feel special. They want to know that you appreciate them. They want to know that the rush deadlines they are working to meet, the services they are providing, and the help they are giving to you matters.

They want to know they are valued.

As business owners we constantly think about our clients, and business coaches, sales coaches, and marketers always talk about customer service … but not many people talk about “vendor service.”

A memorable experience creates loyal, raving fans, and keeps clients coming back. Taking the time to also create a memorable experience for your vendors does the same thing.

For example:

A housekeeper who is ignored, not spoken to, and ordered around isn’t going to do of good as a job as a housekeeper who is respected, thanked, and appreciated.

Likewise, the IT consultant that is accused, yelled at, blamed, and expected to drop everything to work nights and weekends isn’t going to be as willing to go out of their way to help you, be available, or try to get you a deal, etc. But an IT consultant who is respected and thanked, who feels valued and appreciated, will go out of their way to help you at odd hours and they will try to secure deals and savings for you.

And, a designer who doesn’t feel valued isn’t going to go the extra mile for you, say yes to that crazy-rush project you need done, or cut you a break on price. But a designer who feels appreciated and feels like a valued member of your team will be there to support you in any way they can, will work crazy hours to help you get your project done, will add-in extra features to your site because they are invested in your business, will go the extra mile in design, and will often do quick small things down the road for free!

This couldn’t have been better illustrated than the example I encountered this week.

Two different long-term Bourn Creative clients approached me this week with BIG rush projects. We only had capacity to accommodate one request immediately. One client calls me during every project to tell me how much she appreciates me and reminds me that I am an asset to her team. The other has never said thank you.

Which client do you think I said yes to? Obviously the first! My other client, even though I value their business and enjoy working with them, isn’t getting their project started until Tuesday!

So while we all know how important customer service is, I also want to encourage you to dedicate some time for vendor service as well! If you do, you’ll get better service and create loyal, raving fans in your vendors as well … and that’s when they’ll always go the extra mile to help you when you need it the most.

As you can imagine, I have seen some pretty bad graphic design mistakes and marketing mistakes over the years. The graphic design mistakes alone could take up a few blog posts, so I am going to focus on and share with you the biggest marketing mistakes I see business owners, service professionals, and entrepreneurs make.

Marketing Mistake #1
Forgetting about your current clients and customers.
While it is very important to always be marketing your business, engaging new prospects, and generating new leads, it is just as important to nurture the relationships with your existing customers and clients. They are your most valuable resource and you want them to always feel important.

Marketing Mistake #2
Forgetting to define your niche.
You absolutely have to define your target market and the niche you are speaking to. Several times I have been speaking with a client who answers the question, “Who are you targeting?” with “Everyone.” Give me a break! Either you so arrogant that you think every single person on the planet is your perfect, ideal customer, or you don’t understand that by generally speaking to everyone, you hook no one.

If you don’t pick a niche and tailor all of your marketing to speak directly to that niche, no one reading your marketing will connect with it, and say, “Oh my gosh that is me! I need this product/service.”

Marketing Mistake #3
Forgetting that they don’t care about you.
Most people know that no one wants to listen to you go one and on and talk about yourself constantly. So, what is it that businesses seem to think people do want to hear them ramble on and on about how great they are?

The truth is that your audience doesn’t care about how great you are, they care about what’s in it for me, why do I care, and how is this going to help me? Only after these questions are addressed can you establish why you’re the person they should be listening to.

Marketing Mistake #4
Forgetting that marketing is a process.
Marketing isn’t a one time event. It isn’t a single thing you do and then forget about. Marketing is an ongoing process of trying out ideas, testing them, reviewing the results, tweaking them, and trying them again.

A mistake that I see many business owners make is placing a single ad and ho[ping for great results. It takes anywhere from seven to twelve marketing “touches” before your message sinks in to your audience’s minds. That means one ad is probably going to produce very little results, while an advertising campaign spanning a length of time may be much more effective.

You can’t try a marketing strategy or tactic just one time and then give up on it because sometimes everything about it great expect for one small change that needs to be made. Instead of giving up, change something and try it again. Evaluate the results and repeat until you find the perfect marketing piece that works for you.

Marketing Mistake #5
Forgetting to follow up.
You’ve heard the phrase the fortune is in the follow up, but why is it that most people fail in the follow up department? In many cases no follow up is done at all! I’ll admit that one of the growing pains I have suffered during my business growth is a lack of follow up with my clients. My problem was time and a lack of delegation.

My advice to you is to get systems in place to make follow up easy for you. Make use of multi-step auto responders, hire an assistant or business manager, or use a checklist. After all, you got their attention, follow up with your audience, leads, and prospects to keep them engaged and interested.

I am sure that you are currently, or have been guilty of at least one of these marketing mistakes. I’ll admit that I have committed each one at some point. The key is to realize the mistake and take positive action toward creating change and building a better business.

Do you have another marketing mistake to add to the list? Have you made one of these mistakes? I’d love to hear what you have to say…