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Whether you’ve recently launched your own company or have been in the game for several years, you probably don’t need a lecture about the importance of having a good marketing strategy in place. After all, it’s the easiest way to obtain new customers and grow your brand.
However, despite its importance, some 50% of small businesses do not have a marketing plan in place , and many of those that do, do not know how to execute their strategies effectively – resulting in lost income and poor engagement with their customers.
With that in mind, here are three common marketing mistakes that businesses make (and how you can avoid them).
Your strategy is not client-specific.
One of the keys to succeeding when marketing your brand is understanding exactly who you are marketing yourself towards. However, this does not simply mean your target audience, but also the various subcategories that they fall into. For example, a digital marketing strategy for B2B (Business To Business) companies should vary largely from those that are B2C (Business To Client). This is because, while using similar techniques (SEO, Inbound Marketing, etc.), the former should be much more formal in its approach.
Your marketing feels false.
Have you ever rolled your eyes at a TV advertisement that claims their product is the ‘best in the world’? Over-zealous claims are one of the easiest ways to turn customers away, as it feels as though you are pushing too hard for sales, meaning that your product/services are probably not the best in the world. Whatsmore, this kind of statement is near impossible to prove. As a result, if you want your marketing strategies to work and want to protect your business’s reputation, you should focus on creating genuine advertisements that rely on facts that you can back up with evidence.
You aren’t diversifying your marketing strategies.
A strong marketing strategy is a diverse one. To put it simply, you cannot put all of your eggs in one basket (or all of your money behind one campaign) if you want to succeed. As a result, you should ensure that you have a marketing strategy in place across a variety of different platforms. This could include your social media channels, website, and any paid advertisements you are sending out online. You should also ensure that your content is as varied as possible in order to achieve optimal results. For example, right now, video content is more important than ever, and video campaigns tend to bring in the best results in terms of both sales and engagement.
By keeping your campaigns (and content varied), you boost your brand’s visibility and keep your customers entertained. After all, when they are kept entertained and engaged by your posts/content, they are less likely to look elsewhere or venture over to your competitor’s website. It’s also a great way to increase the amount of time people spend on your website (especially if you run a blog)- which increases the chances of them making a purchase.
