Classic Marketing Mistakes
Undoubtedly, you realize how important marketing is for the success of your business. Your marketing efforts must be precise and effective. Unfortunately, if you are not experienced on the marketing side yet, you may unintentionally make mistakes that will slow down your results.
Here are some of the bases for classic marketing mistakes:
“Marketing is what the folks in the Marketing Department do”
But the real Marketing is what the whole organization is about.
“Our market is – Everyone”
Not Marketing to a Defined Group: Find your target audience and gear your marketing plan to that audience. Trying to appeal to everyone typically does not work.
“We need new customers”
Not Focusing on Repeat Business: Repeat business typically makes up 80 percent of customers in most businesses. Too often marketing campaigns are heavily focused on bringing in new customers and not building relationships with current ones.
“The Research Tells Us …”
Relying on the results of market research as the deciding factor when making marketing decisions is a risky proposition. Why? Because research is inherently fraught with many potential problems. These problems are often the result of how the research is designed or how it is executed.
“Pump More money/effort into Promotion”
Viewing marketing problems in terms of promotional deficiencies is extremely shortsighted. Marketing is much more than advertising. Sales problems could be the result of numerous other marketing problems. Before deciding to spend more on promotion it probably makes more sense to spend time reviewing all marketing decisions to make sure problems do not lay elsewhere.
“Not Having a Clear Marketing Message”
Marketing messages that are contrived, confusing, too subtle or too long can easily miss the target market entirely. The most ingenious marketing plan is wasted if no one gets it.
“Having the Best Product on the Market”
You might think it’s the best product, but remember the marketer is not buying the product. The marketer’s target market is supposed to buy it. If a marketer can’t understand why customers are buying a competitor’s product when the marketer thinks the competitor’s product is inferior then the marketer does not know the market well enough.
“Our Customers Only Care About Getting the Lowest Price”
No they don’t. They care about the best value for their money. Customers first and foremost want to feel comfortable with their purchase and know they got their money’s worth from their decision.
“We Know Who Our Competitors Are”
Most marketers when asked to name their competitors can easily rattle off a list. While the length of this list shows strong knowledge of the market, what is more important is who is not on the list. Companies not viewed as competitors are potentially the biggest threat to a company, especially for companies operating in a rapidly evolving market.
“All That Matters Is Profit”
Sometimes a firm must make strategic decisions that sacrifice profits in order strengthen other parts of the company. Unless you have satisfied customers you wont have profits
“No time to Plan”
Marketing executives within fast moving industries often feel planning beyond the short-term is useless since the market changes so rapidly.. A marketing plan can help the company insert controls on marketing expenditures. It also has the added benefit of having marketers take a step back to see where the company has been and may uncover important information that was not apparent earlier. Additionally, a marketing plan may help ensure that everyone within the company is on the same page with regard to the basic direction of the firm’s marketing efforts. This may prevent finger pointing down the road. Even if a plan is limited to only covering the next six months of operations it is an exercise that should not be avoided.
”Not Getting Feedback”
Test your marketing ideas and do research. Don’t launch it without getting some feedback first.
“Change for the Sake of It”
Just because you are tired of your marketing plan doesn’t mean it isn’t working. Too many marketers make changes because they think they have to. Often, a tried and true formula will keep working.
Conclusion
Marketing is obviously critical to the success of your business but it is important to avoid mistakes that will slow down or halt your marketing efforts completely. Effective marketing is definitely an art form and the better you become at it, the more it will pay off for your business.
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Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
It’s important not to be TOO concerned with making “mistakes.” Sure, you want to make sure that nothing you put out there is going to hurt your brand by being offensive or otherwise detrimental, but part of marketing is experimentation. If you wait until everything is perfect, you won’t get anything done, and an over-sanitized message often doesn’t resonate. So I’d say think everything through and bounce things off others if you are worried that something might be overtly harmful but don’t be afraid to try something that may not work. Use it as an opportunity to learn and to test.
By Julie Scheurer Graff
Good thoughts Julie
Via LinkedIn Groups
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Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
A nice list of common marketing mistakes that wont be significantly damaging. The big ones are huge. Your a fast food business and your supplier of meat contains e-coli and 3 people die and 100 are ill. You blame it on your supplier and name them and say nothing more nor do anything more. That can be a disaster cutting sales as much as 40 per cent over night.
You keep running a negative advertisement against your competitor and it is so poorly done the consumer thinks it is you who has all thee negatives meanwhile your competitor enjoys added sales. This happen infrequently but when it does hard headed CMOs go down with the ship costing millions in lost sales while spending a million or two on advertising.
Acting outside the box in Marketing can be either a huge win or a big flop. Market research may help prevent it, but many times you get a very mixed answer from focus groups.
Getting out of the MARCOM world and into product management, not launching a product that is in your zone because it is very innovative and people don’t get it in the focus group. Example, when cameras were first put on semi smart phones they were poor quality, low pixel counts, and the general public wondered why. Sale were slow due to pricing. Soon pictures of all kinds were appearing on TV and they were a hit over night.
By Frederick Held
Good additions Fred
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Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
To help minimize the big ones, adequate time planning and thorough analysis and research.
By Paul Becker
Good thought Paul. The planning will help move quicker to a better way if the strategy/tactics are not working, because you are better prepared.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
There appears to be a glaring disconnect with this list and current marketing trends. In your 4th bullet point, you state, “relying on the results of market research… is a risky business.” I would argue that failing to understand what is effective and what is not effective is the primary cause of all the other mistakes on your list. There is the formal market research with all the quantifiable metrics available today. There is also the market research uncovered by your field sales organization. And let’s not forget the market research that a customer service group can gather (both positive and negative) as they communicate with actual users.
If you fail to acknowledge the value of these various sources of market research and design (redesign) your strategies around them, that is the biggest mistake of all.
By Larry Pecora
True Larry, but the point is not to follow them blindly.
Via LinkedIn Groups
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Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
The flip side is, if you’re not occasionally making mistakes, you’re not operating at the edge. Avoid the obvious, proven, not to do things, but learn (quickly) from any less successful endeavors.
By Craig Kensek
Very true Craig.
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Group: Non-Fiction Writers
Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
Very useful article, thank you. I especially relate to ‘Our market is everyone’ as it is an approach I come across very often in coaching people in effective use of social media.
By Liz Melville
Thanks Liz
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Group: Non-Fiction Writers
Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
I always tell clients “Marketing to everyone is marketing to no one.” Amazing how many people miss that. Also how puny marketing budgets are in most cases. I had one this week tell me they wanted to do a “national” SaaS launch with $10,000 for the year. Um, no.
I also like, “No one else is doing this…” and “We don’t really have competitors…” That might be because they all found out the hard way that your niche… isn’t. 🙂
By David (Ledge) Ledgerwood
Well said David! All true
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Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
A fine summary. Many comments that point to reality checking and staying in the fray instead of going back to my office pretending ‘I know’ or that ‘we are done’. Marketing needs constant attention
By Joseph Seiler MCC
Thanks Joseph. Good Marketing is certainly not set and forget
I see that this article was promoted through Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network which is a group that removed me as a manager and member over a year ago.
If you are not already a member, follow the thousands who have joined me at the Dr Brian’s Marketing Network on LinkedIn
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business & Outsourcing Forum
Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
Good points. Thank you. Marketing is no longer about the “big idea”, but rather about the “big data”. This is not a suggestion to get lost in the data, by any means. However, we are now able to measure the successes and failures of our marketing efforts, at least with a higher degree of accuracy than before. That should suggest that we should be getting smarter at how we use our marketing dollars, and what we can show for it. Indeed, marketing is an art form, but it is equally a science.
By Liza Hess-Rodrigues
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Discussion: How Do You Avoid Marketing Mistakes?
A great reminder of all the things us “marketers” should be thinking about and how we should be doing our jobs to “sell” the product! Thank you!
By Scott Michelson