You’ve decided you need a new website.
Or you’re going to do more advertising.
What’s the first and easiest mistake most people make?
They look at what other people in their industry are doing and decide to do that too.
Whether it is the look of a website, the fact that your competitors are doing billboards, or the kind of slogan or tagline you use, this is rarely a good idea.
The fact is, the chances are small that what your competitors are doing is sensible.
We see this over and over again when we’re working in an industry new to us. We survey what others in that field are doing. It is usual to find similarities that make no sense, aren’t working and can only be credited to people imitating each other.

Hideously conflicting colors (classic car parts).
Overly complicated website navigation (zoo and aquarium websites).
Taglines that say nothing and do nothing for the business (almost anybody).
Direct mail invitations to free dinners (financial advisors).

Don’t think that huge companies are immune to this kind of thing. There are reasons why General Motors went down the tubes – and those reasons have more to do with marketing idiocies than anything else.
Don’t make yourself a victim of “me-too” marketing.