Fatal Marketing Blunders to Avoid

We may be able to recognise someone else’s marketing blunders, but how good are we at recognising our own? Here are five fatal marketing blunders to avoid.

Not having a digital content strategy

Having a digital content strategy is integral to your marketing strategy. By not implementing one, you are committing one of the deadly sins of marketing. Strong, quality content is the way forward when it comes to boosting your search engine rankings, not multiple short pages with useless information crammed with keywords.

Updating your website with regular, informative content that features good text formatting queues (headings, sub-headings, bullet points etc.) on the page and has impeccable spelling and grammar should be at the top of your marketing strategy.

Not being unique

Your marketing strategy should expose the unique nature of your brand. Even if you are offering the same product or service as many other companies, marketing offers the opportunity to expose what is great about you; your unique selling point (USP). Having a news page or blog allows you to update your website with content that is unique to you therefore to Google.

Also use your website as a way of offering information that is hard to find elsewhere. If you are just repeating the same information available elsewhere on the Internet, especially by larger and more established brands, you will struggle to compete. Instead, take the opportunity to offer personal advice, using fresh techniques such as infographics and video to entice visitors.

Not having the right team

The wonderfully varied spectrum of marketing is too big to be carried out by one person. Direct mailing, online marketing, communications and PR; all these areas require team effort in order to be carried out effectively.

If you are a small organisation that cannot afford a comprehensive marketing team, consider freelancers to help when you need it (e.g. Christmas mailings). Alternatively, choose one or two marketing techniques and focus on them. Two well executed campaigns and strategies are much more effective than five or six failed attempts.

Not considering your customers’ needs

When was the last time you truly considered what your customers need and what? Do you know who your customers are, even? These are very important questions, the answers of which could help make or break your business. Who your target customers are is not stagnant either; people change and you need to, too. So, whether yearly or bi-annually, take some time to assess your client/customer base and make sure your marketing is reaching them.

Not capturing repeat clients/customers

The average proportion of business that comes from existing customers is 80%, so failing to resell to your current client/customer base could prove fatal to your profits. But that’s not to say you should not focus on increasing your business in the meantime. Being able to manage both existing and prospective clients/customers is an important part of operating a business, therefore having someone with strong sales and relationship/customer service skills within the company is another aspect of successful marketing.

Post By
Rachel Stone is a main contributor to Project Print and there Digital Printing Service.