Have you made marketing mistakes in your manufacturing or industrial business in the past?  The good thing is, those failures can be good marketing lessons.

Learning From Your Mistakes

We often think of smart people as those who get straight A’s in school, can solve a tricky math problem at the drop of a hat, or speak with elaborate and complex vocabulary. However, being “smart” is much more than just being an intellectual or have an endless pit of knowledge. Being smart is about being practical, and most importantly, learning from your mistakes and not making them twice.

Paulo Coelho is frequently quoted as saying, “When you repeat a mistake it is not a mistake anymore: it is a decision.” Being smart is also about strategic decision making.

Mistakes

Some of these mistakes include:

Not doing your homework

It is important to plan and prepare.  Get the facts and know the pitfalls before moving forward with something.  Take the required time necessary to do your homework and it will pay off.

Operating without a budget

Along with doing your homework, it is important to create a budget and work to stick to it.   Without a budget, we often spend a lot more than anticipated and don’t know where the money went.  Do the research so you know what anticipated costs will be and plan a realistic budget.

Failing to delay gratification

We live in an instant gratification society.  It takes discipline to wait for what you want.   Sometimes we have to delay our wants so we can work towards what is most important.

Trying to be someone you’re not

Trying to be like other people is a pathway to failure.  Just because someone else is successful doing something does not mean you have to be like them.  So many people try to copy others and it rarely works.   Be yourself, YOU are unique and special.

Trying to please everyone

You can never please everyone.  When you try to please all you please no one.  I have found the best thing to do is “do what is right” and don’t worry about pleasing others.   Their attitude and feelings are their problems, not yours.

Believing in someone or something that’s too good to be true

Often we are after the quick fix or easy way to do things.   If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.   You have heard the saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”  Well, it certainly is true.  Don’t believe that one person or one thing will solve all of your problems.

Losing sight of the big picture

Keep the big goals in your view.  Don’t veer off the path.  So often we get so caught up in the little things we lose sight of our goal or the big picture.  Don’t get side-tracked and give up on your goals.  Keep that picture in focus as you work towards your goals.  It makes all the hard work worthwhile when you keep the big picture front and center.

Change to a growth mindset where you learn from your mistakes. Learn from your marketing mistakes so you don’t continue making them.

Emotionally intelligent people are successful because they never stop learning. They learn from their marketing mistakes and they learn from their successes.   You can do the same as you market your manufacturing or industrial business!