We’ve all been there—you worked so hard on a marketing campaign, and it flopped. It’s okay that you took a swing and missed. A sure thing that suddenly turned into a not-so-sure-thing. They say that it’s not a failure—it’s a learning experience. Relax, we’ve all been there! Luckily, there are a few common mistakes that are easy to spot and even easier to avoid once you’ve done them. Take it from us and use these tips to steer clear of marketing mistakes. It’s time to put your business’s best foot forward.
An Outdated List
There’s nothing worse than spending time and money on something that never makes it to the intended recipient. Whether you mail an award-worthy direct mail piece to an old address or hit send to an invalid email, all of your hard work went to waste. That’s why it’s important to have a database of your audiences that you update regularly. Reach out every now and then to confirm if the information you have is still valid and how your audience would best like to be reached. While one person may prefer email, others will prefer good old-fashioned snail mail.
No Call to Action
Your marketing materials were well received… but what now? It’s important to have a clear call to action on every single item. This could be as simple as directing your audience back to your website or a bit more complex like following up to attend a specific event. Whatever you do, make sure your recipients know exactly what action they should take next.
Confusing Language
It’s important when writing your marketing materials that you know your audience. Grouping your audience into various personas can help make it easier to write your materials. Give your persona types a name, age, hobbies and interests. Consider brands they may love and how those brands speak to your audience. The more you can relate to your prospective customers, the more likely they’ll be to relate with your products and services. Remember to avoid industry jargon that could be confusing to new customers.
Ignoring New Avenues
It worked 20 years ago, so why isn’t it working now? While it is essential to stick to what you know, it’s also imperative to acknowledge new ideas and methods of marketing. Take a moment to try something you’ve never done before. It may help to take a pulse survey to see how your audience would like to be reached. Or, consider holding a test group meeting to see how your marketing materials are responding. You might just find your next big success story with something you’ve never tried before.
Not Tracking Your Efforts
If an email marketing piece is sent out and you didn’t track it, you’ll never know if it succeeded. Likewise, if a direct mail piece hits mailboxes and you didn’t use a personalized URL, you’ll never know if the latest increase in sales is due to your marketing efforts or a happy accident. That’s why no matter what you do, online or offline, track your marketing campaigns. Then it’s out with the old and in with the new. Whatever is working the best, you’ll be most successful to focus your efforts there instead of in channels or efforts that may not be working.
Mistakes happen. The most important part is what you do to learn from them. Take it from marketers who have been there… all of us! These common mistakes have happened to us all, but you can take steps to ensure they don’t happen to you. Next time, you’ll be ready!
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