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Marketing can be a tricky balance. It’s not just about finding great ideas, but making them work appropriately and meaningfully for a target audience. It also includes a number of components, or “tools,” and handling the right ones can be the difference between people shrugging their shoulders at marketing efforts or For real enjoy the performance.
Here are some pitfalls to avoid in the process.
1. Immature lead nurturing
When it comes to nurturing leads, there are actually many ways to go wrong, and one of the biggest is not keeping leads’ best interests in mind while nurturing them. When building a campaign to target a specific audience and grab attention, keep this in mind who they are and what they care about.
For example, if you sell high-end sports cars, your message should be geared towards people who love luxury and speed. If a product is more affordable but still of high quality, then you may want to focus on selling on the affordability aspect rather than solely on the quality.
2. Lack of analytics
When it comes to marketing, you can’t just jump into it: you need to know what kind of content performs best, what your target audience is, and how to reach them in the future. This is where analytics comes into play. You need to know what works and what doesn’t, so that you can make adjustments if necessary.
If you don’t have an analytics program, it becomes more difficult to grow because there are no clear indicators of what needs to be improved or expanded.
Related: 10 questions to ask when collecting customer data
3. Inconsistent brand messages
Consistency is the cornerstone of a strong brand. If you don’t have it in your posts, you can’t build the level of trust that leads to loyalty and repeat customers.
Think about it: if you send an email with one message and then follow it up with an ad on Facebook that contradicts that email, how could anyone know who you are? The bottom line is that if you want your company’s brand to resonate, you need to make sure the content is consistent across all channels.
4. Not Enough Engaging Content
Content that engages an audience and makes them feel like they want to click through and learn more is more than essential. And it is not enough to generate examples of that you thinking is interesting, but to see content through the eyes of customers – and if you don’t know who those customers are, then there’s some work to be done.
It’s much harder to innovate on that front if you don’t have a creative brief, which is essentially a roadmap for a brand’s social media strategy, so make sure you have a compelling one before you jump into any projects.
Related: Make it a team activity to create truly compelling content marketing
5. Sell instead of solve
This is one of the biggest problems that can haunt a business, but it is also one of the easiest to avoid. If you’re only selling, you’re focused on convincing people to buy. However, when you solve a problem, you are focused on meeting people’s needs and helping them achieve goals.
The difference between these promotions is huge: if you’re just selling something, the focus is on you and the product; you want someone to buy ASAP. But if you’re also solving a problem (including helping people achieve goals), the emphasis is on both selling and keeping them coming back – you love what you do for them so much they want more. You want enthusiastic fans who tell their friends, who in turn can buy your product/service.
6. The marketing department is isolated
When a department is isolated, it does not collaborate with other departments. This can be problematic because the marketing team needs to have a good understanding of what other business sectors are working on in order to do its job effectively. For example, if a company has an app coming soon and the sales department is about to launch a new product line for its target customer base, it is vital to make sure the marketing team is aware of it so they can integrate it in messages.
Related: How to break silos in your business by building lanes
You can be as innovative, smart and progressive as you want, but if marketing doesn’t work, these efforts will pay off. And it’s tempting to examine the missteps above and think you’ll never fall into such poor decision-making, but the truth is, we all have our moments. The key is to learn from them and never make the same mistake twice.
