Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, there are several common mistakes marketers make on a regular basis. Here are fifteen mistakes marketers make with marketing to help you avoid falling into any traps.
Failing to Understand Target Audience
Some marketers assume that they know who their target audience is without doing any research. The truth is, that upon researching what type of people actually buy your product, you might find that your initial assumptions were actually wrong. For example, most people assume that men are the target audience for buying cars. Yet, car companies understand that women tend to make the final decision on car purchases making them the actual target audience. If you don’t actually know who the business’ target audience is, it’s hard to market to them. You’ll need to know whether or not your customer is male or female, their age group, their location, their interests and hobbies.
Not Sharing Content to Full Extent
Some marketers think that once they create the piece (video, content, brochure) that people will flock to your website and your business will take off. However, a successful marketer understands that you should spend twice the amount of time promoting the content as you did creating it. Your business may decide to share a newly made video on social media sites but you’ll have to think bigger to gain greater reach. In addition to promoting to your own fan base, you’ll also want to attract new customers by sharing the content on other websites.
Limited Time Blogging
It can take several months to a couple of years for a blog to take off. Since blogging is time consuming and the results aren’t immediate, some business’ opt not to create or maintain a blog. However, blogging can increase your business’ traffic to increase your popularity. A blog is a great way to increase your ranking in the search engines as it shows Google that you’re regularly updating your website. Potential customers may visit your website to read a blog post and then decide to learn more about your business to buy your services or products. While it is a long-term investment, it’s worth it in the long-term.
Focusing on the Sales Pitch
Think about how you feel when you’re reading or speaking to someone who’s trying to sell you on their product or idea. People don’t want to be sold to. While your maintaining your social media pages and websites the goal should be on providing your customers with value. Once they’re ready to buy your product or service, they’ll contact your business because you’ve strategically built a long-term relationship with them.
Too Much Copy
People dislike reading websites with too much text. They prefer consuming information visually. Whether you create an animated explainer video for the home page or an infographic for a blog post, visually stimulating information is more likely to get shared.
Spending Time on Unproductive Tasks
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. The difference between a successful marketer and an unsuccessful one is how it’s used. For example, spending time checking your e-mail every fifteen minutes is unproductive. People spend more time answering their emails and phones than getting work done. Other unproductive marketing specific tasks would be spending weeks to create a logo. People don’t choose a brand based on how nicely designed their logo is. They care about the product or service you’re providing. Focus on spending time building your online presence and increasing your sales conversions.
Failing to Measure Results
Businesses should always measure every marketing activity they do. For example, once your newly created video is sent to you, your team should be measuring their conversions. Where has the video seen the highest increase in sales or lead generations? Is it through social media, on your home page, sales page? The video should be placed in different areas to see which area actually converts the best.
Miscommunication
Marketers work with several different people every day. They contact bloggers, animators, editors, translators, customers and more. Marketers need to be effective at communicating with each target audience in a way that speaks to them. When miscommunication occurs, it can destroy relationships with important people. For example, if a marketer handles a social media complaint poorly, it may discourage that customer and others from doing business with your company.
Not Keeping an Eye on Competitors
A successful business always knows what their competitors are doing. A successful business also never undermines their competitors’ capabilities. With viral marketing, a brand can become an overnight success transforming your business’ industry. Stay on top of current trends, pay attention to the marketing efforts of other business’ and attend industry networking events.
Focusing on Features Instead of Benefits
Many businesses spend too much time relaying the features of a product or service while failing to explain the key benefits. Consumers want to know what they’ll gain by using your product. Marketing is about helping your customers envision the gains of using your product. For example, clothing companies typically feature a group of friends smiling. It helps customers envision what they’ll look like in that business’ clothing.
