3 common marketing mistakes you must avoid
By Publicity Heaven writer Adam Constable
When applied effectively, marketing is a powerful tool. In fact when you get it right, great marketing is the number one way to supercharge the performance of your business.
Unfortunately it’s also a powerful waste of money when you get it wrong. And most businesses get some aspect of their marketing wrong in one way or another.
Here are the three most common marketing mistakes made by businesses, and how to avoid them:
You don’t differentiate your business from the competition
It’s the most tempting thing in the world to focus your attention on what your competitors are doing and how they are marketing themselves. But when you do that, something happens. You start to think they have the monopoly on good ideas. And so you start to adapt them. You might not be directly copying, but you are heavily influenced.
When your source of marketing inspiration is your competitor, you have a problem. Because when a potential customer compares you to them, they will see the same thing. And that makes it less likely they will pick either of you.
In order for your business to stand out, you must understand how your competitors market themselves – then make sure you market differently. The good news is, if you have even a small degree of success in your business, then you already have a competitive difference. You just need to figure out what it is and turn it into your marketing message.
You don’t communicate effectively with existing customers
Most business owners focus their marketing efforts on generating new leads, and turning them into new customers. There’s actually an easier way to make more money. And that’s to work your existing client base.
There are two ways to generate more revenue from existing customers. The first is to up sell and cross sell to people when they buy, as well as encourage them to purchase from you repeatedly. Once someone has bought from you the first time, they are much more likely to purchase again (so long as you didn’t annoy them in any way). The other way is to ask satisfied customers to recommend other people who would benefit from what you sell.
Include your current clients within your marketing strategy. By communicating effectively with your existing customers, it is more likely they will return to you again and again. Offer incentives and exclusive offers. Make people feel special when they have trusted you with their money.
Your marketing is inconsistent
Imagine you were selling a product that costs £20,000. It’s a top of the range, luxury item, purchased only by people with a six figure income. And you print the brochure for it on cheap paper on your own laser printer. The brochure isn’t going to help you sell a lot of product, is it?
That’s an exaggerated example, but you get the idea. Every aspect of your marketing needs to reinforce the message you are trying to send. There are three Ps in marketing that need to match: The Product, Price and Promotion. If your product is exclusive, then the rest of the marketing campaign must support this, justifying the price (and demonstrating the value) and why your consumer should buy it.
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