Common marketing mistakes you should avoid

A sharp and effective marketing campaign is one of the most important and valuable assets a business needs. Even if you don’t have access to a marketing team to assist you when promoting your business. There are various types of advertising campaigns available to you. Regardless of the strategy you choose, the name of the game is increasing sales.

Marketing allows you to promote your business in the best possible light. When marketing is done right, you will come off as being both dynamic and unique. By presenting yourself in this fashion, you will grab the attention of potential customers.

There are, however, certain pitfalls to avoid when it comes to marketing products.

There are ways to ensure your marketing campaign is as effective as possible, but there are also ideas and concepts you should avoid to be successful and consistent.

Your marketing is too generic.

In this case, your marketing strategy lacks specificity. The purpose of marketing is to captivate and intrigue. Keep in mind that though you are well-versed in your brand and business, others must comprehend it as well.

♦ It is essential that your target audience understands the precise value of your product or service. Your marketing efforts should aim to be straightforward, impactful, and transparent.

♦ You must ensure everyone you’re targeting for your product or service knows exactly what you offer. You want to make your marketing simple, effective, and clear. Check out this guide on “The Complete Guide to Customer Analysis.”

♦ Ask friends and family what they think of your campaign and see if they can explain the concept. If they can you know your marketing is clear and to the point. Being clear and concise should be the ethos of your marketing.

♦ If your potential customers are struggling to understand the concept you are trying to convey. Then it may be time to rethink your strategy.

This is why SEO is important.

Without going into detail about the buyers’ journey. It is fair to say that a lot happens during the “Awareness Stage” or the initial first step of your sales funnel. Knowing how a prospect moves through your funnel is critical for a sales conversion.

From this awareness stage, your potential customers should become interested in your product/service. This is the second stage, “Interest.” From interest, they take the next step, “Consideration,” or consider your product/service as an option for solving their problem. If you have done a good job with your marketing strategy you could be awarded with a purchase. The “Purchase,” is the final stage of the buyers’ journey.

Ask yourself. Are you adequately appealing to the appropriate audience segment?

Check out “How to Use SEO for Brand Awareness.” for more insight.

♦ Market research is as important as doing keyword research. Sometimes, it takes a unique and critical eye to challenge our ideas so that we can improve on them.

Your marketing is too complicated.

Often, the point of a marketing plan is to catch someone’s eye quickly. You want them to think about your product or service long after that initial contact with your business or brand.

How does a marketing campaign become too complicated? From a business level,l it can come from tracking too many metrics. To avoid this issue it is wise to identify the “Key Performance Indicators.” Find the relevant KPIs that fit your promotional campaign.

♦ Pictures, written content, instructional videos, web adverts, and signs are a great way to draw in a potential audience. Make sure you use catchy slogans, words, and images that will stick in the mind of your customer base. But not so, that you lose your audience. Additionally, use colors and branding that people will remember.

All of this sounds good in theory. But if you don’t measure the results, good or bad, you will never know what to fix. Remember, marketing is a process.

♦ Where your marketing manager or yourself can do more harm than good is attempting to be everything. You don’t need to be overly complex with your marketing strategy. Find what works and measure your results accordingly.

Lastly, you need people to respond to your marketing campaign positively. By understanding your business’s intentions, your customers can help promote your company. Check out a previous post, “How to Build Your Brand.”

Your communication is poor.

You can have the most successful marketing campaign in the world. Still, if your potential customers aren’t taking your calls to action (CTA’s) seriously, then you are wasting time and money. Are they able to contact you? Are you using your marketing channels wisely?

If you aren’t using your social media platforms appropriately you are committing a major mistake as a marketing professional!

♦ Make it clear in all your marketing efforts how people can contact you. Offer an email address or take them to your website where you can promote your business further. Additionally, have a content marketing strategy that is well thought-out and includes all the keywords you want to rank for.

♦ Remember, you are trying to draw people in, and then let the website do the rest of the talking and explain the finer details for you. Remember, there are many types of marketing campaigns available. You need to figure out which one fits the niche and best serves the customer base you are servicing.

♦ Ensure you stand out and your business is simple to research. Avoid convoluted URL’s or domain names. If people can’t contact or find you easily, they will quickly grow frustrated and move onto your competitors.

You haven’t budgeted effectively.

Marketing budgets are significant because you can spend as little or as much as you want on promoting your business and spreading the word. But paying for ads isn’t a guarantee for success. Do your homework.

♦ It’s important to look at your demographics and marketing reach. Analyze exactly where your target audience lies for you to make the most impact. Don’t assume you know your audience. Take time and do some research. You will be surprised that your target audience is not what you thought it was.

Ask customers how they found your business. Collect data from reliable sources so you can determine what works and what doesn’t.

Secondly, You want to approach a paid strategy over the long term. Though you can get quick results. It doesn’t mean that the leads you are getting are qualified. Like any strategy, you want to refine and optimize your campaigns for the best results possible.

♦ For example, you could spend a significant amount on Facebook ads. Still, most of your reach could be coming from organic sources. If your organic strategies are firing on all cylinders you could be better served by redistributing funds to more appropriate areas in your business. In other words, be careful, sensible, and efficient when it comes to your marketing efforts.

There is no better way to do this than by Keeping up with current trends and keeping your fingers on the pulse of the market.

Be bold, and don’t be afraid to try something new!

Final Thoughts

I think you can see the pitfalls of marketing campaigns. You can’t set out on a path without having a set of goals. By having a set of goals, you can make informed decisions and determine which tactics are working. And delete the ones that aren’t.

Criteria of Good Metrics

Are they:

• Meaningful. Is the data you are measuring matter to your business?
• Accurate. Can you trust the numbers that you are using to measure your results? Is the data source reliable?
• Relevant. Is the data current? Is the available data the best to answer the question?

Like anything you do. There’s no right or wrong approach. It is your job, as a business owner or lead marketer, to find the appropriate solution to the problem.