Inbound marketing won’t work for just any business. If you’re going to start, then you need to be ready to make the necessary commitments; otherwise you won’t see results. Here are some of the most common reasons that companies fail with their inbound marketing:

You’re impatient

It can take anywhere from 6-24 months to see results with inbound marketing. In the first stage, usually around 6-8 months, you should start seeing an uptick in website visitors as well as social media interactions and follows. In addition, you’ll start to generate more “fitting” leads for your business.

During this period you can have some control over how successful you’ll be, but it really comes down to time. The more time you put into your social media marketing and creating original content such as blogs and ebooks, the more you’ll gain traction. Only posting on social media a couple times a week won’t really help you in the long run. But remember, quality over quantity is key.

You don’t know who you’re talking to

I am continually shocked when I talk with companies who don’t have an understanding of who their audience is. Your buyers are not just “anyone between the ages of 18-34 with an income of at least $60,000.” There is much more to it than that. How do they spend their day? What devices do they use? What are they most concerned about?

Inbound marketing is really about being at the right place at the right time. But you can’t do this until you’ve established your customer’s pain points and buying habits, which helps you create content that your ideal buyers are looking for.

You’re not providing value

It can be overwhelming to start doing social media and blogging for your business, especially if you’re not too familiar with the different social channels. Because of this, you will need to focus on creating a strategy. At this point you have established who you’re audience is, so you can use that information to drive your content topics.

The biggest mistake I see businesses make with social media is posting just to post – no value added for their customer base. They don’t really know how to drive engagement, or how to not promote their content without being too “sales-y.” Creating and sharing content that isn’t going to connect with your ideal audience will just hurt your business in the end. You can read our guide on social media management for more tips and strategies on this topic.

You’re not committed to growth

Inbound marketing is not for the faint-of-heart businesses. And if you’re deciding to start, then you need to be ready to hit the ground running. You should be motivated to drive sales, create online chatter about your business, and be open to new possibilities. But most importantly, be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve your goals. If you’re content with where your business is at and don’t have an urge to grow, then don’t even bother trying.

You don’t have the right tools

Whether it’s an app to help you stay focused and on-track, a team of professional content creators, or a knowledge-base to learn from, you can’t succeed with inbound marketing until you find the right tools. If you’re new to the process, then I suggest finding a trusted source in the industry to consult with. There are a lot of steps you will need to take before you can really get started, and understanding them will make the process easier.

Once you’re ready to create content, you’re going to want a way to organize your content, schedule posts, and track your campaigns. I’ve compiled a list of some of the best marketing tools to fit your needs.

You’re too focused on results

Because inbound marketing works, businesses often approach the technique with the mindset that results will happen overnight. Like I said above, it just doesn’t work that way. And if you have that mindset then it will only lead to frustration.

It’s good to have clear goals, such as wanting to increase website traffic by 50% each month, but remember that inbound marketing focuses on creating quality leads. So just because you didn’t achieve that goal one month doesn’t mean that you failed. You may very well get less traffic, but the traffic that is coming through might actually be more qualified.

Once you can get yourself, and your business as a whole, into this mindset then you will be on your way to achieving inbound marketing success.