Dumb Business Names And Other Bozo Marketing Moves

 By Kyle Reyes

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

How many times have you heard that one?  And do you ever want to be the business owner uttering these words?

There's a commercial running on Rock 102 right now for a new restaurant.  The bulk of the commercial is spent telling people how to pronounce the name of the business.

Hate to clue you.  If you have to pay thousands of dollars just to teach people how to say the name of your business... then you probably shouldn't have named your business what you did.

Think about it.  What's the first thing many people will do?  Look you up on Google if you're a new restaurant.  Or Yelp.  Or Facebook.  Do you really want to lose out on potential customers because nobody knows how to spell the name of your business?

Speaking of online - let's think about that as well.  We've seen countless businesses who are spending money on television, radio, print and billboards to drive people to a website...that, frankly, royally stinks.  More likely than not, more than 40% of your users are visiting your website from mobile devices.  Can they read your site...or are they pinching and zooming?  The Silent Partner Marketing has partnered with MD Tech Team to help knock some sense into businesses that are wasting their money on poorly designed sites and even more poorly designed marketing and advertising strategies.

Let's think about some other marketing moves.  How about using social media as a megaphone and not as a telephone?  There are far too many businesses that have an online social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, Google+) just to talk TO people...and not to speak WITH them.  #fail

Spending money on SEO.  Ask our team at The Silent Partner Marketing all about how SEO is dead.  Or talk to our boy Edwin over at CToutandabout.com.  He'll tell you all about how paid "SEO" is long gone...but content marketing...and providing unique and relevant content to your viewers and readers is the "Google Juice" of 2014 and beyond.

You use the word "viral" like it's an order you can give.  Things don't go "viral" because you want them too.  Things go "viral" through a combination of strategy, design, testing and a little bit of luck.  You want "viral"?  That's what your local college campus is for.

Want to learn more about how to create an award-winning marketing strategy?  Hit us up.  And it's ok to make fun of our website.  The new one rolls out very soon.  Why?  Because we recognize when something is a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

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Kyle Reyes is the President and Creative Director of The Silent Partner Marketing, a boutique marketing firm focused on helping businesses grow in an age of exploding technology.  You can find him on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.  He's the Chuck Norris of marketing.  It's outrageous - we know.  That's kind of the point.