Top 10 Marketing Mistakes You’re Making
Use your time and marketing resources to take your business to the next level by avoiding these marketing mistakes!
1. You don’t know your audience.
This may sound harsh, but “everyone” does not care about what you have to offer. Out of all the marketing mistakes, this one is the easiest to fall to.
When it comes to marketing, this is good news! Breaking down your ideal customer based on demographics, psychographics, needs, and wants allows for better targeting. Knowing your audience means you understand who they are, where you can reach them, how they communicate, and what they care about. Knowing and understanding this information will save you time and money, and help you get in front of the people that care about your offering!
2. You don’t know your competitors.
Just like your audience, it’s important to know and understand your competition. Take the time to research who they are, what they offer, their pricing, their messaging, and their ideal customer. Just like you would do for yourself, take the time to look at their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
This is an ongoing process! Your competitors are constantly evolving, just like you! Understand other members in your industry to avoid these marketing mistakes, you’ll be able to speak to what differentiates you and your offering.
3. Your goals are not S.M.A.R.T.
You might’ve learned about S.M.A.R.T. goals back in school or at a company retreat, but here’s your refresher! S.M.A.R.T. goals are goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals for your marketing plan is vital when it comes to following through.
Many face challenges proving ROI on certain marketing activities, such as social media or blogs, but setting relevant goals is an incredible asset. At The it Crowd, we aim to attach every project we work on to a goal, for both our clients and ourselves. Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals allows us to focus on the bigger picture rather than just checking boxes. Because we’ve set our goals, we see how each piece, despite ROI, helps us get there!
4. You don’t know how to measure your performance.
After setting a goal, you have to measure your performance! However, some measurements aren’t as simple as they seem. Not all measurements include dollar signs, and that is okay, but you still need to know how you are going to track success.
For example, if you are looking to attract more leads through your website, then track newsletter signups. If you care more about growing industry influence through social media, monitor trends in followers, engagement, and impressions. Evaluate the root of your measurement and take this off of your list of marketing mistakes.
5. You’re relying on assumptions rather than insights.
Does marketing ever feel like a guessing game to you? You aren’t alone! You likely feel this way because you’ve skipped steps 3 and 4 above–setting goals and knowing how to measure them. Accurately measuring performance creates actionable insights. It’s much easier to “go with your gut,” but basing decisions on assumptions rather than findings often leads to disappointment.
Don’t just disregard numbers and previous performance for a good idea. Take the time to investigate past performance and use that information to plan for the future.
6. Your brand is inconsistent.
Even to the smallest details, creating a consistent brand builds a cohesive image and message for your target audience. Branding includes more than just colors, fonts, and logos. It is the way you communicate, the actions you take, and the beliefs you hold to. Now, more than ever, audiences care about who you are as a company, and what you stand for.
Just like how important it is for all designs to stick to your branding guidelines, this marketing mistake proves that your words and actions must align. Evaluate your mission statement and company values, do they translate in your day to day actions?
7. You’re not planning.
Just like a new product release takes research, development, testing, and a lot of time, so do marketing plans! It’s easy to feel like you need to rebrand, build a new website, and have a million followers on Instagram all at once. This isn’t realistic, and feeling overwhelmed by everything that “has” to be done, typically means nothing gets done.
Develop a timeline, evaluate your research and goals to priorities, and then delegate. This struggle for marketing professionals is one of the reasons we position our agency as a member of your team. We love helping teams execute on the ideas and dreams they’ve lost traction on.
8. You’re inconsistent.
No matter the platform or plan, consistency is key. For example, a successful social media campaign not only requires consistent, timely posting, but also engaging with your audience, tracking behaviors and performance of the post, and then implementing those insights. The same can be said of almost all marketing efforts–emails, website development, SEO, industry events and trade show attendance, etc. Stay consistent, even if it doesn’t seem to work at the very beginning, sometimes it just takes a little time!
9. You’re not adapting.
Now, I know I just said that you have to be consistent, but you also have to be open to change! Even if your strategy and branding worked in the past that doesn’t mean it will always work. Audiences, industries, and competitors change, so there will be moments that you have to embrace change.
For us, TikTok was a hard one to adapt to. We thought it would come and go in a month or so, but eventually we adapted, and now we love the fun video sharing app! Stick to who you are, stick to your core values, but when advancements come, embrace them.
10. You forgot why you do what you do.
It’s easy for brands to talk about everything they do and sell. It’s also easy to forget why you do what you do. Even the greatest companies can forget the “why” behind their work. Sure, products sell, but missions rally. At the end of the day, customers will care more about your mission and values than the features of a product. Of all the marketing mistakes, this one might be the most difficult to unpack, but take the time to ask yourself, what am I really selling?
Think of your favorite brands and ask yourself what you love about them. Nike is an incredible example. Nike sells far more than athletic gear, they sell a dream, passion, motivation, and the potential for more. Can you say the same of your brand?
Need a spark?
We love helping brands unpack the fullness of their potential. This list may seem daunting, but remember, you don’t have to fix everything at once, and you definitely don’t have to do it alone. Evaluate, prioritize, and delegate.
If you have any questions on where to start or how to pivot, we would love to give you some direction. Reach out!
