7 top marketing mistakes businesses make

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Whatever industry you work in, marketing mistakes are somewhat inevitable, unless you have a professional in-house PR team to help you promote your services.

However, there are some common mistakes that can be particularly detrimental to your company that are easily avoided.

As an SME, the chances are that you already have to contend with budget constraints, deadlines as well as the urgent need to reach out to your customers, so avoiding the mistakes below will help you to save time, money and resources, while helping you to focus your energy where it is most needed.

Mistake 1) Choosing the wrong channels

There are countless channels that you can use to promote your business, but not every one of them are going to be right for your business.

Your audience demographics, products and services and location will help to determine which channels you should be using.

If you are a musician hoping to appeal to a younger audience, YouTube and Facebook may be perfect for your business, but Pinterest and Instagram may be more suitable for a fashion retailer.

It all depends on what your product is, who your target market is and where they are most likely to hang out online.

2) DIY marketing

Many SME owners try to save money by attempting to do all of their marketing by themselves. However, unless you are an expert in marketing, this is a bad idea.

The skills involved in putting together an effective social media campaign, writing an influential article that will persuade people to sell and investing in a PPC campaign that will draw customers in, takes a special type of knowledge and expertise.

As an entrepreneur, it is important to focus all of your efforts on the product or service you provide, instead of attempting to master every aspect of the business yourself.

No one person can be a service provider, accountant, social media expert, marketing guru, PR extraordinaire, and lawyer all at the same time, so it is important to focus your attention on where your strengths are and hire an experienced marketing agency to do the rest.

It’ll save you time and money in the long-run! Remember: A Jack of all trades is a master of none.

3) Obsessing over competitors

Of course it is important to be aware of what your competitors are doing. After all, you want to be the best in the business.

For sure, it is great to learn from your competitors strengths and weaknesses, but don’t make the mistake of trying to copy everything they do in an attempt to draw customers in.

Marketing is all about creating a fresh, new identity for your brand, unique from what can be found elsewhere. Not everything that is right for your competitors will be right for you.

Besides, the last thing you want to do is replicate their mistakes – especially if you want to stand out from the crowd.

4) Skipping the analytics

With anything that you do in marketing, it is always important to measure your results. Indeed, many social networking sites and websites have analytics built into their platform. This makes it easy to see at a glance which campaigns are working well for you and which ones really aren’t.

Remember there are plenty of free tools that you can use such as Google Analytics, Chartbeat and Clicky to help track and monitor your success.

And another thing, every campaign you launch online should use tracking codes/pixels or unified threat management (UTM) codes. Print ads should use unique phone numbers, special discount codes and custom URLs.

This will help you to see exactly what you are doing well, and where there may be room for improvement.

5) Failing to update your website

It is important to stay on top of your game when it comes to marketing. Your website is one of the most important sales tools of all. This is why it is so important to keep it current and updated. If users can see that you have not updated your blog in months, or that you have a very old website that has not kept up with the times, they may very well decide to look elsewhere.

If you use a platform such as wordpress, be sure to keep it updated to safeguard you against threats and malware.

Your website should be updated and easy to navigate with a professional look in order to make it appealing to potential customers.

6) Believing that you don’t need to “sell”

Wrong. Every business needs to sell. You may very well be the best in your industry but unless you can connect with customers in a way that is meaningful to them, you are simply not going to get your company the exposure it deserves.

Once you are successful in pulling in so many customers, that you literally cannot keep up, then for sure, some products and services may be self-explanatory.

But listen. The truth is, even the big, well-known brands still invest millions into marketing. Why? Because failing to promote your company, will not only result in you missing opportunities to gain new business, it may also give your competitors and newer firms in your industry an upper hand.

7) Thinking that your business doesn’t need an online presence

Even if you are a high-street store or your business is primarily an offline one, the truth is, the vast majority of consumers look for your business online.

Promoting your business online allows you to reach far more customers than you would by traditional marketing or word-of-mouth.

Setting up an online presence doesn’t have to be expensive either – platforms such as social media are free, while the cost of setting up and maintaining a website can be low as a few pounds per year.

Conclusions

Avoiding the mistakes above can literally save you thousands in the long-run. Knowing exactly how to connect with your audience, build meaningful relationships online and direct people to your product or service will help you to reach more consumers, boost sales and increase your exposure.

But when it comes to marketing, it is important to do it right.

In a world where content can go viral in a matter of minutes, one misplaced tweet, spelling error or gaffe, could help to undo everything that you have worked so hard for.

This is why it is important to invest in a marketing company such as Markateur, that will help you to promote your services in the right way from the outset.

And it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg either. If you are a small business that is trying to get exposure but doesn’t have the budget of larger enterprises, get in touch with Markateur today for a FREE no-obligation, marketing review.
By signing up for a marketing review, you will not be bombarded with unwanted phone calls and nor will you get pestered by our agents.

This FREE review can highlight EXACTLY what you need to do to grow your business and generate more leads online.

Email us at: enquiries@markateur.com or call us on: 078606 23 9 23 or 01132491945.

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