Techniques and tactics for marketing are always evolving. Entrepreneurs can easily become perplexed about what is effective and what should be avoided with the abundance of recommendations and cautions to heed, some of which are conflicting. This can cause business owners, particularly those who are just starting out, to make critical marketing mistakes.
Below, 15 members of the Forbes Business Council address several common marketing errors they’ve seen business owners make, from casting a wider net to waiting to create the “perfect” campaign, to help you stay out of trouble. Continue reading to find out how these frequent errors could wind up costing your company time and other resources.
1. Not Defining Your Customer First:
Marketing that works inspires action. The proper audience must be reached with the right message in order for that to be done successfully. Entrepreneurs that are successful are hardwired to think broadly and to concentrate on creating goods and services with plenty of features. The foundation of a good marketing plan, though, is narrowly defining the consumer and their priorities before determining the rest.
2. Not Tracking Results:
Both novice and seasoned business owners frequently fail to track marketing activities in-depth. No matter if they are on the internet, television, the newspaper, or even billboards: To ascertain if your marketing budget is being used wisely, granular tracking is essential. Digital tracking is simple, but other methods need consideration (e.g. new domains, new phone numbers, etc.).
3. Ignoring Your Product:
These marketing mistakes are very common. Real growth occurs at the point where product development and marketing converge. Businesses can’t just assume that by choosing the correct mix of channels, incredible results will come. Through constant testing and improvement, product and marketing leaders must collaborate to promote acquisition, retention, and upselling. Develop your product strategy first, then your marketing strategy, and vice versa.
4. Failing To Look At The Holistic Strategy:
The biggest error I see people making is failing to perceive their marketing plan as an ecosystem that encompasses the full consumer experience. It involves more than just discovering a Facebook algorithmic exploit, experimenting with various video captions, or repeatedly testing email flows. This and much more are included. Most people tend to focus on one or a few of these aspects while ignoring the rest.
Marketing Mistakes #5. Lack Of Consistency:
The value of maintaining brand consistency cannot be overstated. There is a high likelihood of failure if your graphics, jargon, or message are inconsistent across platforms. The first impression your brand will make on a potential customer is tarnished by inconsistency.
6. Too Much Experimentation Without Research:
The business world (as well as big businesses) frequently plays the spaghetti game. Usually, this leads to frequent strategy and tactical changes, which decreases sales. It is far preferable to conduct research to find and stick with a relevant, compelling story about who you are to your market. When people are continually aware of you and what you have to offer, loyalty and trust are developed.
7. Thinking You Need To Spend Big To Get Results:
Even a Times Square billboard occasionally has a shorter lifespan than the cheapest stuff! Grassroots efforts which are cheaper might target your specific demographic and produce lasting impressions on your clientele. Instead of attempting to reach everyone, you should choose your target market and market to them. Not always do the biggest investments result in the best returns!
8. Focusing Solely On Digital:
It should come as no surprise that the majority of marketing decisions made today prioritize digital strategy. This is constricting, particularly for service-based companies that value high touch. Social media platforms are prone to bugs and algorithm changes, and users are inundated with emails and advertisements. A well-written invitation or thank-you card delivered by snail mail, however, will be remembered. Invest in the connection.
9. Trying To Be Everywhere:
The quickest way to spread a marketing strategy too thin and come off as dishonest is to think that your business needs to have a strong presence across every single channel—social, traditional, email, etc. Instead, invest the effort to find out where your target demographic spends the majority of its time and create a marketing plan to engage your clients.
10. Marketing Mistakes: Analysis Paralysis:
these steps are useful for avoiding marketing mistakes. The marketing landscape has shifted to one that is rapid, fluid, and very flexible in today’s digital age. Entrepreneurs must be prepared to make choices based on the information they currently have, follow those choices, learn from them, and then modify their plans as necessary. Spending too long or thinking too much about a situation results in lagging behind and missing out on chances.
